A new testing method has been developed to detect pancreatic cancer, which is difficult to find early and has a survival rate in the 9% range. It utilizes liquid biopsy technology to diagnose cancer with a single drop of blood.
A research team from Oregon Health & Science University in the United States announced on the 23rd (local time) in the international academic journal Science Translational Medicine that they have developed a new blood test that can identify early-stage pancreatic cancer.
The scientific community believes that the results of this study will serve as a cornerstone for developing early detection tests for pancreatic cancer.
Pancreatic cancer is difficult to detect and diagnose early due to being surrounded by other organs deep in the abdomen and having few symptoms. As a result, pancreatic cancer is the third leading cause of cancer deaths worldwide, and its five-year relative survival rate is the lowest among all cancer types. The ten-year cancer observational survival rate is only 9.4%.
The most widely used method for diagnosing pancreatic cancer is abdominal computed tomography (CT) scans; however, there is a limitation in detecting tumors at early stages when they are small. While liver cancer can be found early using tests for hepatitis and liver cirrhosis, stomach and colorectal cancers can be detected through endoscopic examinations, and lung cancer can be found early with low-dose CT screening, there is currently no method for early diagnosis of pancreatic cancer. For this reason, pancreatic cancer is not included in the six major national cancer screenings in South Korea. Ultimately, it is diagnosed after not being caught early, most often in an advanced stage, with some cases not detected until the terminal stage after metastasis to lymph nodes or other organs.
The research team utilized liquid biopsy technology that analyzes components within bodily fluids, such as blood and urine, to diagnose diseases. They believe that they can detect pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma through protease, an enzyme that breaks down proteins. The pancreatic duct is the passageway for digestive juices secreted by the pancreas. Protease is abundantly expressed around cancer tumors, and some have been found in the blood, allowing for cancer diagnosis through protease activity.
The research team developed a rapid test method called "PAC-MANN" for detecting pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma using liquid biopsy. They confirmed the clinical efficacy of PAC-MANN for early diagnosis in 356 pancreatic cancer patients. The research team noted, "PAC-MANN detected PDAC with 98% specificity and 73% sensitivity," adding that they successfully distinguished between patients with pancreatic tumors and those in high-risk groups or chronic pancreatitis patients with 100% accuracy.
The research team expects that the PAC-MANN analysis method will serve as an indicator for developing new testing methods in the future. In particular, it is advantageous as it does not require venous blood draws and is low cost, making it efficient for use in regions with low access to medical services or among high-risk patient groups.
Professor Jose Montoya Mira and the research team stated, "PAC-MANN can distinguish between pancreatic cancer and other non-cancerous pancreatic diseases, which could also be used for monitoring treatment progress in the future," and they emphasized that additional clinical development is necessary for future commercialization.
References
Science Translational Medicine (2025), DOI: https://doi.org/10.1126/scitranslmed.adq3110