‘Promising’ new test could detect pancreatic cancer in its early stages
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This new test could spot pancreatic cancer much earlier
- A new blood test, Avantect, is being trialled in the UK to detect early signs of pancreatic cancer in patients with a recent diagnosis of type 2 diabetes, a known risk factor.
- Early data indicates the Avantect test is 68% accurate in detecting early-stage pancreatic cancer and 97% accurate in ruling out the disease.
- The clinical trial, launched at the Cancer Research UK Southampton Clinical Trials Unit, aims to improve early detection, as current methods often lead to late diagnoses when treatment options are limited.
- The test identifies markers of pancreatic cancer in blood samples, addressing the challenge of indistinct symptoms that contribute to the disease's high fatality rate, with almost 10,000 deaths annually in the UK.
- Researchers are collecting blood samples from 800 participants with newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes to evaluate the test's accuracy in predicting pancreatic cancer, potentially benefiting thousands in the future.