New Research: A Blood Test That Could Help Detect Pancreatic Cancer Earlier
- 1 day ago
- 2 min read
Brianna M. Krusen, Phyllis A. Gimotty, Greg Donahue, Jacob E. Till, Melinda Yin, Erin E. Carlson, William R. Bamlet, Erica L. Carpenter, Shounak Majumder, Ann L. Oberg, Kenneth S. Zaret; Improving a Plasma Biomarker Panel for Early Detection of Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma with Aminopeptidase N (ANPEP) and Polymeric Immunoglobulin Receptor (PIGR). Clin Cancer Res 15 February 2026; 32 (4): 756–769. https://doi.org/10.1158/1078-0432.CCR-25-3297
Why This Matters
Pancreatic cancer — especially pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) — is one of the deadliest cancers because it usually isn’t found until it’s advanced. Detecting it early, when treatments are more likely to succeed, could significantly improve survival. But current blood tests aren’t sensitive or specific enough to catch early disease on their own.
Researchers in this study set out to improve early detection by developing a blood-based biomarker panel — a group of proteins measured together in the plasma (the liquid part of blood) — that might better identify early-stage pancreatic cancer than any single test alone.
What They Did
The team looked at plasma samples collected from people with pancreatic cancer and those without cancer (including healthy people and patients with benign pancreatic conditions).
They focused on several proteins that could act as biomarkers (measurable indicators of disease).
Researchers added two new proteins — ANPEP and PIGR — to a panel that already included two known markers: CA19-9 and THBS2.
What They Found
When the four markers (CA19-9, THBS2, ANPEP, and PIGR) were combined, the panel was much better at distinguishing people with pancreatic cancer from those without it, compared with existing tests.
In two independent groups of patients (from the Mayo Clinic and the University of Pennsylvania), this four-marker panel had very high accuracy — meaning it correctly identified many cancers and very few false positives.
For example, the combined panel correctly identified more than 90% of pancreatic cancers overall and nearly 88% of early-stage cases (stage I/II), while keeping the rate of false positives low.
What It Could Mean for Patients
A blood test like this — if validated in future studies — could help detect pancreatic cancer earlier and more reliably than current methods.
Early detection may expand treatment options (including surgery) and improve outcomes for people with this aggressive disease.
Because blood draws are simple and minimally invasive, such a test could be useful for screening people at high risk for pancreatic cancer.
What’s Next
This research was done using samples collected at the time of diagnosis. Before this panel can be used in routine care, scientists need to test it in larger, prospective studies — ideally in people being monitored before they show any symptoms — to confirm how well it works in real-world early detection.
Bottom Line
This study shows that adding new protein biomarkers to an existing blood test panel makes it more accurate at detecting early pancreatic cancer in plasma samples. While still early, these findings offer promising steps toward a non-invasive test that could someday help catch pancreatic cancer sooner, when treatment has the best chance of success.
