Pancreatic cancer is known to be one of the most aggressive and deadly form of cancer. It kills almost 95% people who are diagnosed with it. The biggest problem with pancreatic cancer is that it is very difficult to detect in early stages and by the time it is detected, it has usually spread to other organs and is beyond treatment and cure. Only 7% cases of pancreatic cancer are detected in time for surgery.
However, according to a small study presented Wednesday in Orlando at the Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium, an experimental blood test may be able to help doctors find more of these cancers early, at least in high-risk patients, such as those with a family history of the disease.
The test in question measures a protein made by pancreatic tumors called PAM-4. In the course of the study, the test was able to detect 62% of early tumors and 90% of more advanced cancers. The study was undertaken with 68 patients who had surgery for pancreatic cancer and 19 healthy volunteers. But the test also gave wrong warning signs as well, indicating that healthy people had cancer about 5% of the time.

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