March 28, 2016
The identification and initial validation of a highly accurate 5-gene pancreatic cancer biomarker panel that can discriminate late and early stages of pancreatic cancer from normal pancreas and benign pancreatic lesions could facilitate early diagnosis of pancreatic cancer,” said co-senior author Roya Khosravi-Far, PhD, Associate Professor of Pathology at BIDMC. “Our findings may open a window of opportunity for earlier diagnosis and, consequently, earlier intervention and more effective treatment of this deadly cancer, leading to higher survival rates.”
The first diagnostic application of the panel may be for analyses of fine needle biopsies routinely used for diagnosing pancreatic cancer and for determining the malignant potential of mostly benign pancreatic cysts that can sometimes be precursors of pancreatic cancer. In addition to providing a new tool for diagnoses, the research may also lead to new insights into how pancreatic cancer arises.
“Because these five genes are ‘turned on’ so early in the development of pancreatic cancer, they may play roles as drivers of this disease and may be exciting targets for therapies,” said Libermann. Most of the five genes—named TMPRSS4, AHNAK2, POSTN, ECT2 and SERPINB5—have been linked to migration, invasion, adhesion, and metastasis of pancreatic or other cancers.
The scientists next plan to evaluate the precise roles of the five genes and to validate the accuracy of their diagnostic assay in a prospective clinical study. “Moving forward, we will explore the potential to convert this tissue-based diagnostic into a noninvasive blood or urine test,” Libermann said.
“To further enhance the diagnostic power of this biomarker, we plan to expand it by including non-coding RNAs, proteins, metabolites and mutations associated with pancreatic cancer. This will result in development of the first of its kind biomarker that gauges pancreatic cancer alterations from multiple genomic angles for making highly accurate diagnoses,” added Bhasin. Such an inexpensive and simple test could help transform the landscape of pancreatic cancer and help prevent many of the estimated 330,000 deaths that it causes worldwide each year.
Explore further: Screen some patients with acute pancreatitis for pancreatic cancer, researchers suggest
Journal reference: Oncotarget search and more info website
Provided by: Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center