A new blood test designed to detect early signs of pancreatic cancer is being trialled in the UK.
The genomic test analyses blood samples to identify markers of the deadly disease, which often presents with indistinct symptoms and can be fatal within months.
The test is being trialled in patients with a recent diagnosis of type 2 diabetes – a known risk factor for pancreatic cancer.
The trial is focusing on patients newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, a known risk factor for pancreatic cancer. Individuals over 50 who develop type 2 diabetes have a higher chance of also being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer within three years.
Early data suggests the Avantect test is 68 per cent accurate in picking up people with early stages of the disease, which kills almost 10,000 people every year in the UK, and 97 per cent accurate in ruling out people without pancreatic cancer.
The new clinical trial has been launched at the Cancer Research UK Southampton Clinical Trials Unit.
Zaed Hamady, a consultant surgeon and pancreatic researcher at the University of Southampton who is leading the trial said there is “currently no targeted early detection or surveillance test for the disease, meaning patients are often diagnosed late when they become really unwell”.
“If we can develop approaches to detect the cancer sooner, then there are more options we may consider to treat the disease, and patients will have a much better chance of long-term survival.
“Although most people with diabetes will not go on to develop the disease, new-onset diabetes is associated with a six to eight-fold increased risk.
“This patient group gives us a way to test how accurate the new diagnostic blood test is, and that could potentially help thousands of people in the future.”
The test has been validated by biotechnology company ClearNote Health in patients at a high risk for developing pancreatic cancer, including those aged 50 and over, newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, and those with a genetic predisposition and/or family history of pancreatic cancer.
According to researchers, newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes patients often have similar symptoms to a person with early-stage pancreatic cancer.
This is because the cancer destroys the same insulin-producing cells that are also destroyed in diabetes.
Sean Cleghorn’s wife, Allison, discovered she had pancreatic cancer at Christmas 2020 but died four weeks later, aged 54.
Mr Cleghorn, a father of three from Kingsclere in Hampshire, said his wife’s only symptom was some slight indigestion before she was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes in the autumn of 2020.
“Allison had always eaten healthily, was active and avoided processed food, so this diagnosis was puzzling for us,” he said.
“When we learned that new-onset type 2 diabetes was a potential risk factor for pancreatic cancer, we asked for further testing and a scan confirmed she had terminal cancer.
“We hoped she could have chemotherapy to prolong her life, but she became too weak and died four weeks later.
“Perhaps if she had been diagnosed sooner with a test like the one that’s currently being trialled, we may have had time to make more memories with our three children.”
Angelica Cazaly, senior trial manager for the trial, said people with newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes who are attending GP surgeries or diabetic clinics were being asked whether they would like to take part in the study.
“Initially, we will collect blood samples from 800 people for testing,” she said.
“The results from the test, together with medical information collected from each patient, will help provide researchers with important information on how best to proceed with the rest of the study that will evaluate how accurate the test is at predicting pancreatic cancer.”
Around 10,500 people in the UK are diagnosed with pancreatic cancer every year and just one in 20 survives the disease for 10 years or more.
Samuel Levy, chief scientific officer of ClearNote Health, said: “Our early data demonstrate that our Avantect test can identify pancreatic cancer in stages I and II.
“We are excited to collaborate with the Cancer Research UK Southampton Clinical Trials Unit and the University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust on this transformative study that could redefine how pancreatic cancer is detected and managed for patients at high risk.”
Dr Chris Macdonald, head of research at Pancreatic Cancer UK, said over 80 per cent of people with pancreatic cancer are currently diagnosed too late for treatment.
“This is an exciting time for early detection research, with tests using blood, breath and urine in development which, if shown to be successful in clinical trials, could save thousands of lives every year,” he said.
“Early findings from these tests are very promising, but more research is needed to ensure that they are as accurate as possible before they will be available in the GP surgery.”
