Pancreatic cancer is one of the most deadly forms of cancer because it is usually found very late. The pancreas is a small organ deep inside the abdomen that helps control blood sugar and digestion.
When cancer develops there, it often causes few symptoms at first. By the time warning signs appear, the disease has often already spread to other parts of the body, making treatment much more difficult. This is why survival rates for pancreatic cancer remain low compared with many other cancers.
Scientists at Oregon Health & Science University have developed a new blood test that may help doctors detect pancreatic cancer much earlier than before.
The test, called PAC-MANN, was described in a study published in the journal Science Translational Medicine. Researchers believe this simple test could give patients a better chance of survival by finding the disease before it becomes advanced.
The PAC-MANN test uses a very small sample of blood to search for signs of cancer activity. It looks for changes in special proteins called proteases. These proteins normally help break down other proteins in the body, but they become unusually active when certain cancers are present.
In pancreatic cancer, especially the most common form known as pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma, protease activity increases and leaves detectable traces in the bloodstream.
At present, doctors often rely on a blood test called CA 19-9 to monitor pancreatic cancer. However, this test is not very reliable for early detection because levels usually rise only after the disease has progressed. The new PAC-MANN test was designed to identify cancer signals much sooner, before major damage occurs.
Dr. Jared Fischer, a researcher at the Knight Cancer Institute’s early detection center, explained that the greatest challenge in pancreatic cancer is late diagnosis.
If doctors could find the disease earlier, patients would have more treatment options such as surgery, chemotherapy, or targeted therapy. Early detection could also improve quality of life and survival rates.
Another member of the research team, Dr. Jose Montoya, helped design the test to be quick and affordable. He wanted a tool that could be used not only in large medical centers but also in smaller clinics and rural areas where access to advanced testing is limited.
The test requires only a tiny drop of blood and produces results in less than an hour, making it practical for routine screening in the future.
In the study, scientists analyzed blood samples from 350 participants. Some had pancreatic cancer, some were at high risk because of family history or other factors, and others were healthy volunteers. The researchers found that people with cancer had significantly higher protease activity in their blood.
Using this information, the PAC-MANN test correctly identified cancer cases with about 98 percent accuracy. When combined with the older CA 19-9 test, it detected early-stage cancer with about 85 percent accuracy.
The test also showed potential for monitoring treatment progress. After patients had surgery to remove their tumors, protease activity in the blood dropped, suggesting that the test could help doctors see whether treatment is working. This could allow physicians to adjust therapy more quickly if needed.
One of the most remarkable features of PAC-MANN is its low cost. The test uses only about eight microliters of blood, which is less than a drop, and each test costs less than one cent. Such affordability could make it accessible in countries and regions where expensive medical technologies are not available.
The research team plans to conduct larger clinical trials, especially focusing on people who have a higher risk of developing pancreatic cancer. If future studies confirm the results, this test could become an important tool for early detection and screening.
This breakthrough offers hope against a disease that has long been difficult to detect and treat. Earlier diagnosis could mean more lives saved and better outcomes for patients and families.
Although more research is still needed before the test becomes widely available, the findings mark a major step forward in the fight against one of the world’s most dangerous cancers.
If you care about cancer, please read studies that a low-carb diet could increase overall cancer risk, and vitamin D supplements could strongly reduce cancer death.
For more information about health, please see recent studies about how drinking milk affects the risks of heart disease and cancer and results showing higher intake of dairy foods linked to higher prostate cancer risk.
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