Pancreatic cancer is one of the deadliest and most difficult-to-detect forms of cancer. It kills nearly half a million people annually and has a five-year survival rate of less than 15 percent. The main challenge is that there are no reliable tools to detect the disease at early stages, when the odds of survival are greatest. However, this could soon change.

A new study from researchers at the Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU) proposes a test called PAC-MANN, which could help doctors detect early-stage pancreatic cancer in just 45 minutes using a blood sample. Compared to conventional diagnostic methods, PAC-MANN is more accurate, less time-consuming, and super affordable.

“The big difference with this test is the cost: It takes only 8 microliters of blood and 45 minutes to run the test at a cost of less than a penny per sample. This could easily be used in rural and underserved settings, where traditional tests are not or cannot be used,” Jose L. Montoya Mira, lead study author and a research engineer at OHSU, said. 

Detecting pancreatic cancer in blood

PAC-MANN stands for “protease activity-based assay using a magnetic nanosensor.” This test involves adding special chemical markers to the blood sample. The markers react with a class of enzymes called proteases, some linked to cancer growth.

According to the researchers, people with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), a common and aggressive form of pancreatic cancer, show higher than normal protease activity in their blood. The PAC-MANN test detects this abnormal activity and emits fluorescence when it does, providing a signal of cancer presence.

The OHSU team used PAC-MANN to detect signs of early-stage pancreatic cancer in blood samples from 350 patients. It detected the disease with 73 percent accuracy and correctly identified 98 percent of people who did not have cancer. 

Moreover, the test had a 100 percent success rate in recognizing samples that didn’t show cancer signs but were from patients with other pancreatic diseases. 

Surprisingly, when the researchers combined PAC-MANN with CA-19-9, a well-known PDAC biomarker, the accuracy of the test improved to 85 percent.

“The PAC-MANN test was able to correctly distinguish patients with pancreatic cancer from healthy patients and those with non-cancerous pancreatic issues 98% of the time. It also helped spot early-stage cancer with 85% accuracy when used along with the CA 19-9 test,” the OHSU team notes.

One test, many hopes

Pancreatic cancer has affected millions of individuals and their families worldwide. Patients often discover the disease only after it has already spread to other organs, leaving them hopeless with limited treatment options.

“Our goal with PAC-MANN is to give clinicians a tool that can detect the disease much earlier, when more treatment options are available and there is a better chance of survival,” Jared Fischer, one of the study authors and a scientist at OHSU, said.

Unlike other blood testing methods, such as biopsy or ultrasound, PAC-MANN doesn’t require large volumes of blood. Plus, it can be used to screen a wide population at a low cost and with fewer resources. 

The researchers also suggest that currently, no test targets people who have a high risk of developing PDAC, PAC-MANN can fill this gap.

Moreover, “this test isn’t just about detection — it could also help us measure how well treatments are working and guide therapeutic options. If we can track a patient’s response to therapy in real-time, we can make better treatment decisions and improve outcomes,” Fischer added.

The researchers will now conduct more tests to further confirm the reliability of PAC-MANN. Once they are finished with all the tests and trials, this promising diagnostic method will be available for clinical use.

The study is published in the journal Science Translational Medicine.