New highly sensitive blood test detects traces of one of deadliest…

A groundbreaking blood test can establish even the smallest traces of one of the most deadly cancer sorts.

The highly sensitive test can uncover hidden indicators of pancreatic cancer by detecting a essential genetic mutation that normal testing overlooks.

U.S. researchers say it may doubtlessly delay lives by enabling physicians to pinpoint sufferers whose sickness is more susceptible to recurrence, even when imaging outcomes appear encouraging.

They famous that the progressive blood test targets KRAS — a genetic mutation accountable for over 90% of pancreatic cancers.

The research group, from Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, gathered blood samples from sufferers with localized pancreatic cancer during their treatment journey.

At the purpose of diagnosis, the sensitive test recognized cancer indicators in 65% of sufferers, versus 17% with the usual test.

After chemotherapy and surgical procedure, the sensitive test saved detecting remaining cancer in most sufferers, while imaging didn’t.

The outcomes, revealed in the journal Clinical Cancer Research, arrive as a new revolutionary drug concentrating on KRAS is demonstrating vital survival benefits.

Study senior writer Professor Akhil Chawla said: “As we enter the era of KRAS-targeted therapies, having a screening tool that tracks the same mutation becomes increasingly important.”

“That combination could fundamentally change how we identify high-risk patients, monitor microscopic disease, and potentially intervene earlier before recurrence becomes clinically visible, ultimately getting more patients to cure.”

Pancreatic cancer ranks among the most deadly malignancies, even when caught before seen unfold.

Numerous sufferers endure months of chemotherapy and surgical procedure, yet the cancer continuously returns.

Prof Chawla explained: “In these patients, circulating tumour DNA levels are often extremely low and difficult to detect.

“Many sufferers and households ask me, ‘How do we all know if the treatment is working?'”

“This research is an element of attempting to reply that query more exactly.”

The study tracked 106 Northwestern Medicine patients with localized pancreatic cancer from diagnosis through chemotherapy and surgery.

Researchers collected blood samples from participants before treatment, following chemotherapy and after surgery between October 2020 and October 2024.

At diagnosis, the study revealed that the more sensitive blood test, digital droplet PCR or ddPCR, identified signs of cancer in nearly four times as many patients as conventional next-generation sequencing tests (NGS), which are more widely utilized.

Even following chemotherapy and surgery, ddPCR continued identifying cancer in most patients, while NGS and standard testing failed to do so.

After chemotherapy, ddPCR identified tumor KRAS DNA in 60% of patients, compared with only 5% for NGS. Following surgery, ddPCR identified tumor KRAS DNA in 56% of patients, versus just 9% for NGS.

Prof. Chawla stated: “This suggests physicians might at present be lacking residual disease in most sufferers utilizing at present out there testing approaches.”

The results demonstrated that enhanced detection led to more accurate predictions of patient survival rates.

The most striking finding was the identification of a previously undetected group of high-risk patients whose cancer went unnoticed by standard NGS but was picked up by ddPCR.

This group had an average survival rate of 27 months post-diagnosis, compared to 41 months for patients who tested negative on both assessments.

Prof. Chawla further elaborated: “NGS and ddPCR are blood checks – often called liquid biopsies – that search for traces of DNA shed by cancer cells into the bloodstream.

“Detecting this tumour DNA provides an early sign that cancer is present or may return.

“Because these checks rely on a simple blood draw, they are often repeated over time without requiring invasive procedures.”