New test for symptomless pancreatic cancer has 97 percent accuracy, fueling hopes that deadly disease can be detected in its earliest stages
Scientists have developed a blood test that can identify symptomless pancreatic cancer with 97 percent accuracy, raising hopes that the deadly disease could be detected much earlier.
Around 11,500 people are diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in Britain every year, but the disease is notoriously difficult to treat and just as difficult to diagnose.
Because the diagnosis is often discovered very late, when treatment options are limited, only 10 percent of patients live longer than five years after diagnosis. More than half die within three months of finding out they have the disease.
But a new technique developed by researchers at Oregon Health & Science University could help doctors identify the cancer when it is in its earliest stages, increasing treatment options and life expectancy.
In the study, scientists analyzed blood samples from 36 people, including patients with pancreatic cancer and others with non-cancerous conditions such as pancreatitis.
The trial was conducted blindly, meaning the team did not know which samples belonged to which group.
They used small electrical pulses on a microchip that captured small particles released by tumors into the blood. Those particles were then made to glow so that doctors could spot signs of pancreatic cancer.
Stuart Ibsen, senior author and associate professor of biomedical engineering at OHSU, said: ‘The more cancer biomarkers, the brighter the electrodes on the chip become.
A newly developed test can identify symptomless pancreatic cancer with an accuracy of 97 percent
‘Whatever biomarkers the tumor has, they are carried on these small particles. With our technology we can detect those particles.’
The scientists’ method worked with an astonishing 97 percent accuracy, correctly revealing those who had cancer.
This is much higher than standard biopsies of the pancreas itself, which can detect approximately 79 percent of cancer cases through an invasive procedure.
Although the findings are positive, Ibsen believes it will take about five years before the technique is applied clinically.
Currently, pancreatic cancer is incurable, with a life expectancy of only five years from initial diagnosis. Only one in four patients lives longer than a year.
Even more hope was raised earlier this year when Spanish researchers combined three drugs to completely eradicate pancreatic tumors in laboratory mice, but this has not yet been tested in humans.
Harry Potter actor Alan Rickman died of pancreatic cancer in 2016, just six months after his diagnosis.
It is fatal because it aggressively invades nearby organs, blocks the bile and intestinal tracts, and spreads through the blood and lymphatic systems to the liver, lungs, and abdomen, eventually causing organ failure.
Harry Potter actor Alan Rickman – pictured in 2015 – died of pancreatic cancer in 2016
The pancreas aids digestion and produces hormones, such as insulin and glucagon, that help convert sugar from food into energy.
Pancreatic cancer can cause the gland to not produce enough of these hormones, which can lead to unstable blood sugar levels.
Common symptoms of the incurable cancer include jaundice, when the skin and eyes take on a yellowish tinge, loss of appetite, weight loss, fatigue, high temperature, nausea or vomiting, diarrhea and constipation.
Research published last year suggested that more than half of patients with the six ‘least curable’ cancers – including lung, liver, brain, oesophageal, stomach and pancreatic cancers – die within a year of their diagnosis.
More than 90,000 people in the UK are diagnosed with one of these deadly cancers every year, accounting for almost half of all common cancer deaths, according to Cancer Research UK.
There are currently no early detection tests and around 80 percent of people are not diagnosed until the cancer has spread, meaning life-saving treatment is no longer possible.