Biomedical scientists develop new test for pancreatic cancer
Friday 22nd January 2010
Researchers at Barts, the London NHS Trust and Queen Mary University's Institute of Cancer, have collaborated on a new test, which could help identify victims of pancreatic cancer.
Considered the most deadly form of cancer, the disease is difficult to diagnose because CT or MRI scans can only get limited access to the organ, due to its position close to the spine and behind major organs.
The new testing process, which can reliably detect presence of the cancer in urine for the first time, has been praised as a promising step forward in treating people with the condition.
Dr David Tuveson, group leader in tumour modelling and experimental medicine at Cancer Research UK's Cambridge Research Institute, said that the test could overtake current methods for detection.
"Some places in the world screen family members where there is a clear family history [of pancreatic cancer] but the major challenge has been to find a reliable way to monitor these people and intervene at the right time," he explained.
According to the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, a person with multiple family members with pancreatic cancer is six times more likely to develop the disease.
Written by Angela Newbury
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