Sentinels in the blood: a new diagnostic for pancreatic cancer
Despite enormous research strides, detection methods for many diseases remain cumbersome and expensive, and often uncover illness only at advanced stages, when patient outcomes can be bleak. One such illness is pancreatic cancer, which may display no obvious symptoms in its early stages, yet can develop aggressively. Indeed, according to the American Cancer Society, a staggering 80 percent of those stricken with this form of cancer die within 1 year of diagnosis.
Now, however, Tony Hu, a researcher in the Biodesign Virginia G. Piper Center for Personalized Diagnostics and his colleagues have devised a crafty method to identify pancreatic cancer early in its development. Their technique relies on the sensitive detection of extracellular vesicles (EVs) — tiny bubbles of material emitted from most living cells.
In new research appearing in the advanced online issue of the journal Nature Biomedical Engineering, Dr. Hu and his colleagues describe a method to detect EVs derived from tumors that carry a particular surface protein that functions as a telltale marker for pancreatic cancer. The ability to accurately detect this protein, known as EphA2 may allow it to serve as a signpost that could diagnose even the earliest stages of pancreatic cancer.
https://biodesign.asu.edu/news/sentinels-blood-new-diagnostic-pancreatic-cancer
