Pancreatic Cancer Symptoms & Diagnosis: New Urine Test to be Used for Early Detection

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Pancreatic cancer has shown stability over the past years and has been discovered to make-up only three percent of all cancer cases. The American Cancer Society has reported that about 48,960 are at risk of getting pancreatic cancer, and an estimated 40,560 will die from it. But this number may soon decrease as a new study has discovered and developed a urine test that can help medical experts to detect if an individual is at risk of being diagnosed with the cancer.

The Daily Mail UK writes that a group of researchers from Queen Mary, University of London has found a three-protein signature in samples of urine that can help identify the early stages of the most common type of pancreatic cancer. This signature can help medical experts determine if the individual has pancreatic cancer or chronic pancreatitis, a condition that manifests permanent damage to the pancreas and is often mistaken for cancer.

The researchers believe that through this discovery, they are able to provide the public an affordable and non-invasive urine testing that can screen individuals who are highly at risk of developing pancreatic cancer. As pancreatic cancer usually has no symptoms and can only be diagnosed once the cancer has spread, this early detection possibility can definitely aid in saving more lives.

The team has conducted the study on 500 urine samples which included 200 samples from patients known to have pancreatic cancer, reports The Independent. Through this sampling size, the researchers have been able to isolate the strains of protein, leading to a signature detection that is accurate by 90 percent.

Pancreatic cancer is diagnosed through an examination done by a general practitioner, of which they look for signs of jaundice, back pain, stomach cramps and undetermined weight loss. If the general practitioner feels that the individual is at risk, he then refers them to have an ultrasound, CT scan or MRI. This method of detection often results to late diagnosis, causing only a five-year survival rate among patients.

Factors like family history, smoking, obesity, and diabetes make an individual at risk of developing pancreatic cancer.

Professor Nick Lemoine, coauthor from the Barts Cancer Institute, told BBC World that the medical world is excited with the discovery of the urine test as it increases the survival of people who may be diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. He explained that if before, people get diagnosed when it's too late, the urine test can be the breakthrough experts need to help people get diagnosed as early as stage 1, which increases their chances of survival to 60.

The study has been published in the journal Clinical Cancer Research.