New Blood Test Distinguishes Pancreatic Cancer From Benign Disease

Early-stage tumors are difficult to access and traditional sampling can be invasive with modest sensitivity. Distinguishing malignant from benign pancreatic disease also remains a recurring diagnostic challenge. A new study shows that a blood-based approach using tumor-shed nanoparticles can address these gaps.

Scientists at Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU; Portland, OR, USA) developed a microchip-based liquid biopsy that applies a brief electronic pulse to recover nanoparticles shed by pancreatic tumors from a small blood sample. The captured particles are then fluorescently stained to reveal biomarkers associated with pancreatic cancer. According to OHSU, the method is intended for use in people at elevated risk due to family history or other factors, offering a minimally invasive alternative to current pathways.

The study, conducted in collaboration with OHSU’s Brenden-Colson Center for Pancreatic Care, analyzed blood from 36 individuals, including patients known to have pancreatic cancer and a control group with noncancerous pancreatic conditions such as pancreatitis. The evaluation was blinded so investigators did not know which samples came from cancer cases. Investigators also examined whether the assay could distinguish cancer from benign, precancerous lesions, which are challenging to differentiate by imaging alone.

Performance was notable: the approach correctly differentiated pancreatic cancer from benign pancreatic disease with 97% likelihood. By comparison, direct pancreatic biopsy using ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration typically identifies about 79% of pancreatic cancers. The study further indicates that separating malignant from benign lesions using the blood-based readout could reduce unnecessary surgical interventions for masses that prove noncancerous.

The work is published in Small under the title “Liquid Biopsy Differentiation of Pancreatic Cancer From Non-Cancerous Pancreatic Disease Using Dielectrophoresis-Recovered Nanoparticles Carrying Cell-Free DNA and Protein Biomarkers.” The technique leverages dielectrophoresis on a microchip to isolate tumor-derived nanoparticles that carry cell-free DNA (cfDNA) and protein biomarkers, providing a signal that can be quantified after fluorescent labeling.

“The pancreas is deep inside the body. It’s not like skin cancer you can see or a lump that you can feel. By the time people experience jaundice or abdominal pain, it’s usually already progressed to an advanced stage,” said Stuart Ibsen, Ph.D., associate professor of biomedical engineering in the OHSU School of Medicine and the OHSU Knight Cancer Institute.

“Whatever biomarkers the tumor has are carried on these little particles. Our technology allows us to detect those particles,” said Ibsen. "The information from our blood test could help the surgeon know whether this is something that really needs to come out."

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