Lustgarten Foundation funded researchers at the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins have designed a multi-analyte blood test that can detect the presence of pancreatic cancer as part of a panel of eight common cancers (pancreas, ovary, liver, stomach, esophagus, colorectum, lung and breast) as reported in the online edition of Science today. The test utilizes combined assays for genetic alterations and protein biomarkers and has the capacity not only to identify the presence of relatively early cancer, but also to localize the organ of origin of these cancers.
“The potential this has for pancreatic cancer is unprecedented,” says Anne Marie Lennon, M.D., Ph.D., Associate Professor of Medicine, Director, Pancreatic Cyst Center of the Ludwig Center at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center. “We know that in 80-85 percent of pancreatic cancer cases, it’s detected too late, leaving the patient with few options. Developing a blood screening test for pancreatic cancer has been an urgent goal, because catching the disease early will be the way we get to long-term survival.”
To view the multimedia release go to:
https://www.multivu.com/players/English/8213751-lustgarten-foundation-pancreatic-cancer-blood-test/
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