A potential marker discovered for diagnosing pancreatic cancer through a blood test

Oct 29, 2014 Ruchira Dhoke News 0

The pancreatic cancer begins in the tissues of the pancreas, a glandular organ located behind the stomach. It often has a poor prognosis, even when diagnosed at early stages.

Pancreatic cancer typically spreads rapidly and it is almost unlikely to detect it in early stages, thus being the major reason behind the increase fatality. It is observed that the signs and symptoms do not appear until pancreatic cancer is quite advanced and complete surgical removal isn’t an option.

Image Source: MayoClinic

The reason behind its late diagnosis is because of its anatomical position that makes it hard to spot the early signs and symptoms. In current scenario, approximately 6% of people with pancreatic cancer live more than 5 years after diagnosis, which, in the majority of cases, gets detected after it has started to spread.

The prospect of a simple blood test to detect pancreatic cancer has shown a new ray of light in the dark tunnel as team of cancer researchers finds more potential biomarkers for the disease.

In the American Journal of Gastroenterology, researchers from Indiana University School of Medicine (IUSM) in Indianapolis have reported that the blood of pancreatic cancer patients contained high levels of several microRNAs.

(MicroRNAs are small molecules that help to regulate gene expression in normal and cancer cells.)

This finding is followed by another study recently published where researchers suggest that higher blood levels of branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs) could also form the basis of a blood test for pancreatic cancer.

As per the senior author Murray Korc, a professor of cancer research, “The key new feature of the study is that there is a panel of microRNAs that can be measured accurately in the plasma component of blood to determine if a patient has pancreatic cancer.”

The panel of biomarkers referred by Korc comprises of three microRNAs: miRNA-10b, miRNA-155, and miRNA-106b. Increased expression of these molecules in blood plasma had been found by his team which appears to be a highly accurate indicator for the presence of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), the most common type of pancreatic cancer.

The pilot study was carried on a team of 77 patients with PDAC, 67 with chronic and 71 healthy controls were examined for their plasma and bile. Their levels were compared for the expression of microRNAs.

Their analysis showed that the increased expression of microRNAs miRNA-10b, -155, and -106b in plasma appear to be highly accurate in diagnosing PDAC.

These findings could possibly lead to a simple blood test to screen individuals who are at high risk for developing pancreatic cancer as per Prof. Korc. This test might also prove useful as a way to distinguish between pancreatic cancer and chronic pancreatitis.

blood test, early diagnosis, microRNAs, pancreatic cancer

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Ruchira Dhoke

A qualified medical microbiologist with an avidity to read enchant a deep passion for creating a good impacting masterpiece with my words .I am very fond of good old English literature and like listening to music and paint in my free time.