Biomarkers in blood show potential as early detection method of pancreatic cancer

Researchers have identified diagnostic microRNA panels in whole blood that had the ability to distinguish, to some degree, patients with and without pancreatic cancer, according to a study in the January 22/29 issue of JAMA. The authors caution that the findings are preliminary, and that further research is necessary to understand whether these microRNAs have clinical implications as a screening test for early detection of pancreatic cancer.

MicroRNAs regulate gene expression and play important roles in the development of tumors and tumor metastasis. MicroRNA panels are a combination of several microRNAs.

Pancreatic cancer is the fourth most common cause of cancer death in the Western world and prognosis is poor, according to background information in the article. Early diagnosis of pancreatic cancer is difficult partly because it is difficult to get useful biopsies of tissue from patients suspected of having pancreatic cancer, so markers of the disease that could help with early diagnosis are needed to improve prognosis. Several specific microRNA profiles (patterns of microRNAs) have been linked to pancreatic cancer tissue. A diagnostic noninvasive blood test for pancreatic cancer would be very valuable, the authors write.

Nicolai A. Schultz, M.D., Ph.D., of Herlev Hospital, Copenhagen University Hospital, Copenhagen, Denmark, and colleagues examined differences in microRNA in whole blood between patients with pancreatic cancer (n = 409) and healthy participants (n = 312) and patients with chronic pancreatitis (n = 25) to identify diagnostic panels of microRNAs for use in the diagnosis of pancreatic cancer. Serum cancer antigen 19-9 (CA19-9; an antigen that is elevated in approximately 80 percent of patients with pancreatic cancer) was also measured for comparison.

The researchers identified 2 novel panels with the potential for diagnosing pancreatic cancer.

The authors write that the test could result in referral of more individuals with symptoms to imaging. "The test could thereby diagnose more patients with pancreatic cancer, some of them at an early stage, and thus have a potential to increase the number of patients that can be operated on and possibly cured of pancreatic cancer."

Pancreatic Cancer Diagnosis and Early Detection

Pancreatic cancer may go undetected until it's advanced. By the time symptoms occur, diagnosing pancreatic cancer is usually relatively straightforward. Unfortunately, a cure is rarely possible at that point.

Diagnosing pancreatic cancer usually happens when someone comes to the doctor after experiencing weeks or months of symptoms. Pancreatic cancer symptoms frequently include abdominal pain, weight loss, itching, or jaundice (yellow skin). A doctor then embarks on a search for the cause, using the tools of the trade: