A team of researchers at Oregon Health & Science University has created a new blood test that could help doctors find pancreatic cancer earlier than ever before.
This is important because pancreatic cancer is one of the deadliest types of cancer, often found too late for effective treatment.
The new test is called PAC-MANN, which stands for “protease activity-based assay using a magnetic nanosensor.” It works by analyzing a tiny blood sample to look for certain proteins—called proteases—that behave differently in people with pancreatic cancer.
Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma, or PDAC, is the most common and dangerous type of pancreatic cancer. It is usually not diagnosed until it has already spread, making treatment very difficult.
Current tests, like the CA 19-9 blood test, can show how serious the cancer is but are not sensitive enough to catch it early. PAC-MANN fills this gap by detecting early signs of cancer activity in the blood.
“Our goal with PAC-MANN is to help doctors find pancreatic cancer much earlier,” said Dr. Jared Fischer, a scientist at the OHSU Knight Cancer Institute. “Earlier detection means more treatment options and a better chance of survival.”
Dr. Fischer, who is also an assistant professor at OHSU, is one of the main authors of the study recently published in the journal Science Translational Medicine. The lead author, Dr. Jose L. Montoya Mira, is a research engineer at OHSU. He helped design the test to be low-cost, fast, and usable in many types of clinics—not just big hospitals.
The PAC-MANN test is non-invasive and uses a very small amount of blood. It was tested on samples from 350 patients who either had pancreatic cancer, were at high risk, or were healthy.
The researchers found that PAC-MANN correctly identified people with pancreatic cancer 98% of the time. When used together with the CA 19-9 test, it could find early-stage cancer with 85% accuracy.
The test also showed that it could help track treatment success. After surgery, patients had lower levels of protease activity, which means the test might be able to show if treatments like surgery or chemotherapy are working.
“This test can do more than just detect cancer,” said Dr. Fischer. “It may also help doctors understand whether treatments are helping and guide decisions for better care.”
One of the biggest advantages of PAC-MANN is how quick and affordable it is. It takes just 8 microliters of blood and only 45 minutes to run—at a cost of less than one cent per test. That makes it a great option for places with fewer medical resources, such as rural or underserved communities.
The researchers plan to do more studies, including a new trial with patients at high risk of developing pancreatic cancer. If the results continue to be positive, PAC-MANN could become a regular tool used by doctors to catch pancreatic cancer early and save more lives.
“Hopefully,” said Dr. Fischer, “this is one step toward ending cancer as we know it.”
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The study is published in Science Translational Medicine.
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