Japan: New method helps detect pancreatic cancer early

Professor Taniuchi Shinichi at Osaka University and colleagues have developed a test using a special gastroscope to detect pancreatic cancer early.

DNA in pancreatic secretions is analyzed to check for gene mutations found in most pancreatic cancers.

If this test is performed at the same time as a gastric cancer screening test, early detection of pancreatic cancer will be easier.

According to a VNA reporter in Tokyo, in the above work, researchers found that most forms of pancreatic cancer originate from parts of the pancreatic duct, which is the path through which pancreatic juice passes.

Based on that fact, they developed a testing method to analyze pancreatic juice.

First, the patient is given a drug that stimulates pancreatic juice, making it easier for cancer cell DNA to be released and contained in the pancreatic juice. Next, a special gastroscope is used to collect juice from near the pancreatic juice outlet in the duodenum.

The DNA in the sample is tested to determine the level of KRAS gene mutations. Samples with a high number of mutations are diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.

The trials were conducted on 75 healthy people and 89 patients with early-stage pancreatic cancer in Japan.

The results showed that pancreatic cancer patients were diagnosed with the disease with about 81% accuracy. All healthy cases also received cancer-free test results.

During routine gastric cancer screening performed by local health facilities, specialists often use cameras to observe not only the stomach but also the duodenum.

This new test can be performed by attaching another medical instrument to a conventional endoscope and takes only about 1-2 minutes.

The research team believes that adding early screening for pancreatic cancer risk along with gastric cancer screening could reduce the medical burden as well as the health impact on patients.

However, they also recommend that this test should only be performed on people at high risk of pancreatic cancer, such as those with a family history of the disease.

In Japan, about 44,000 people are diagnosed with pancreatic cancer each year and about 40,000 of them die from the disease.

This is one of the most difficult cancers to treat, with only about 10% of patients surviving 5 years after diagnosis. Therefore, advanced technology is needed to detect the disease at an early stage for timely surgery.

About 94% of pancreatic cancers have mutations in the KRAS gene, which act as a marker for the presence of cancer.

Methods for detecting gene mutations in body fluids are being studied, but early detection in blood and other test samples remains difficult.

The new research results have opened up a positive new direction to prevent or reduce the number of deaths from pancreatic cancer.

This joint research project between Osaka University, Tottori University, Kagawa University and several other universities was published in the American medical journal Annals of Surgery./.

Source: https://www.vietnamplus.vn/nhat-ban-phuong-phap-moi-giup-phat-hien-som-ung-thu-tuyen-tuy-post1014635.vnp#google_vignette