Blood Test for Pancreatic Cancer Shows Promise in Early Trial
Blood Test for Pancreatic Cancer Shows Promise in Early Trial
But the screen is meant only for people already at high risk for the deadly illness, experts say
FRIDAY, Oct. 25 (HealthDay News) -- Pancreatic cancer is one of the most lethal tumor types because it's too often diagnosed in a later, advanced stage. But a new study suggests that a simple blood test might help spot the disease earlier.
The study is described as small and preliminary, and investigators cautioned that the initial findings will need to be confirmed in larger trials.
"Pancreascancer is the fourth leading cause of cancer death in the United States," said study coauthor Dr. Nita Ahuja, an associate professor of surgery in the department of oncology and urology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, in Baltimore. "There have been minimal to no improvements in the survival from this disease in the last 40 years. There are over 40,000 people diagnosed every year and about that many deaths."
"One of the main reasons for the lethal nature of this cancer is that most cancers are diagnosed too late once they have spread to other organs," Ahuja said. "Around 8 percent have spread to distant organs such as the liver or lungs, while another 10 percent have locally spread to major blood vessels. However, in the patients where cancer can be detected early and has not spread, a long-term cure is possible with surgical removal of the cancer with the surrounding lymph."
Any means of spotting the cancer early would therefore be crucial, Ahuja added. "We have mammograms to screen for breast cancer and colonoscopies for colon cancer, but we have had nothing to help us screen for pancreatic cancer," she said.
Ahuja said the new study sought to find blood "markers" for pancreatic cancer "in patients who are at increased risk for developing this cancer, such as [those with a] family history or heavy smokers."
Ahuja's team had previously identified mutations in two genes, called BNC1 and ADAMST1, that typically occurred in the presence of pancreatic cancer. Since both mutations are found in 97 percent of early stage pancreatic cancer tissues, the researchers developed tests to search for signs of the mutations in blood samples collected from 42 people already diagnosed with early stage pancreatic cancer.
Blood Test for Pancreatic Cancer Shows Promise
But the screen is meant only for people already at high risk for the deadly illness, experts say
FRIDAY, Oct. 25 (HealthDay News) -- Pancreatic cancer is one of the most lethal tumor types because it's too often diagnosed in a later, advanced stage. But a new study suggests that a simple blood test might help spot the disease earlier.
The study is described as small and preliminary, and investigators cautioned that the initial findings will need to be confirmed in larger trials.
"Pancreascancer is the fourth leading cause of cancer death in the United States," said study coauthor Dr. Nita Ahuja, an associate professor of surgery in the department of oncology and urology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, in Baltimore. "There have been minimal to no improvements in the survival from this disease in the last 40 years. There are over 40,000 people diagnosed every year and about that many deaths."
"One of the main reasons for the lethal nature of this cancer is that most cancers are diagnosed too late once they have spread to other organs," Ahuja said. "Around 8 percent have spread to distant organs such as the liver or lungs, while another 10 percent have locally spread to major blood vessels. However, in the patients where cancer can be detected early and has not spread, a long-term cure is possible with surgical removal of the cancer with the surrounding lymph."
Any means of spotting the cancer early would therefore be crucial, Ahuja added. "We have mammograms to screen for breast cancer and colonoscopies for colon cancer, but we have had nothing to help us screen for pancreatic cancer," she said.
Ahuja said the new study sought to find blood "markers" for pancreatic cancer "in patients who are at increased risk for developing this cancer, such as [those with a] family history or heavy smokers."
Ahuja's team had previously identified mutations in two genes, called BNC1 and ADAMST1, that typically occurred in the presence of pancreatic cancer. Since both mutations are found in 97 percent of early stage pancreatic cancer tissues, the researchers developed tests to search for signs of the mutations in blood samples collected from 42 people already diagnosed with early stage pancreatic cancer.
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