Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) makes up 95% of all pancreatic cancer cases and has the lowest survival rate, and early diagnostic methods have yet to be developed. As a result, diagnosis often comes at a later stage when treatment options are limited and prognosis is poor.
Diagnosis at this stage often comes from imaging techniques followed by tissue biopsies, which are not appropriate options to use as standardised, early screening methods. New ways to diagnose PDAC at an earlier stage are needed, without the use of invasive procedures.
Liquid biopsies are becoming a more popular option to fill this demand. Taking a blood sample is minimally invasive, quick, and can tell us a lot of information about a person from their cfDNA (cell free DNA). cfDNA is released from cells and circulates in the blood, containing information about the cell they come from.
Methylation on cfDNA often appears in cancer patients, making it an effective biomarker that can be used to diagnose the presence of cancer with high accuracy and specificity about the cancer (such as location). The concept has many applications, including in the earlier diagnosis of PDAC.
The full story is available on the Cancer Research UK Oxford Centre website