Urine Test Detects Early Stage Pancreatic Cancer

In the UK, around 10,000 people are diagnosed each year, but only 5% survive beyond five years. Late diagnosis is a major factor—more than 85% of patients are diagnosed too late for surgical intervention, with most dying within 6–12 months. Now, a new GBP 1.6 million clinical study will validate a simple, non-invasive urine test capable of detecting the disease at an early and potentially curable stage. Early detection through a simple urine test could transform survival outcomes and treatment access.

The urine test works by measuring levels of three specific proteins identified as biomarkers of early-stage pancreatic cancer. These proteins were discovered in earlier PCRF-funded research and have demonstrated nearly 95% accuracy in distinguishing early pancreatic cancer from other pancreatic diseases and healthy samples.

The four-year UroPanc clinical study by researchers from Barts Cancer Institute, Queen Mary University of London (London, UK) that is fully funded by the Pancreatic Cancer Research Fund (PCRF) represents the final step before the test’s clinical use in patients. In the ongoing UroPanc study, more than 3,000 participants will be tested to confirm the biomarkers’ accuracy in a real-world clinical setting.

The study will recruit two main groups—a symptomatic group of patients referred to hospitals by their general practitioners suspect pancreatic cancer and an asymptomatic group at higher genetic or familial risk of developing pancreatic cancer. These participants will provide urine samples alongside standard diagnostic investigations and are already undergoing imaging procedures such as CT, MRI, or endoscopic ultrasound scans will contribute additional urine samples for testing. Once validated, the research team will develop a standardized diagnostic test for clinical use—potentially the first in the world to detect pancreatic cancer at a stage when surgery is still possible.

“We’ve been working on this biomarker research for over ten years and I’m excited to reach this stage,” said Professor Tatjana Crnogorac-Jurcevic from QMUL. If we can detect pancreatic cancer when it’s still operable and when the tumors are small and not yet spread to other organs, we could see a significant impact on patient survival; removing tumors that are 1cm or smaller can increase 5-year survival to around 60%.”

“Because symptoms of pancreatic cancer are vague and often mistaken for less lethal conditions, being able to rule in or rule out pancreatic cancer much more quickly would be a major step forward in speeding up the diagnostic pathway,” added PCRF founder and CEO, Maggie Blanks. “It would mean that many more patients would be eligible for surgery or could start other treatment much sooner.”

Related Links:
Barts Cancer Institute
PCRF