In a large study supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), scientists have developed a blood-based laboratory test, or liquid biopsy, to accurately detect early-stage pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), one of the deadliest forms of cancer. The researchers suggest the test could complement existing strategies to detect early-stage PDAC.
PDAC is the most common type of pancreatic cancer and is often found late, making it hard to treat. It has a five-year survival rate of about 12%, the lowest of all solid cancers. There is an urgent need for minimally invasive methods for diagnosing PDAC at early stages. To address this, the research team developed a blood-based assay, or test, to look for a pattern of microRNAs (miRNAs) combined with a known pancreatic cancer biomarker, a protein called CA19-9.
The researchers conducted an international, multicenter biomarker study that involved 1785 patients with and without PDAC. Through combining the miRNA test with CA19-9, the test was able to identify about 87% of patients with early-stage pancreatic cancers, and it correctly detected those with precancers more than half the time. The test was also able to distinguish patients with pancreatic cysts that were not precancerous from those with cysts that were likely to turn into cancer. The test’s accuracy was consistent across tumor locations in the pancreas, study location, patient ethnicities, and levels of risk among the populations tested.
Overall, the researchers identified a blood-based test that could improve detection of early-stage PDAC. Additional larger studies are needed to determine how best to use this test and whether the test can be used to monitor patients with cancer. The researchers suggest the test should also be validated in large clinical trials with populations at high risk of developing pancreatic cancer.
Reference: Xu C, et al. Liquid biopsy for early detection of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma. Nature Medicine. 2026. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-026-04625-x