New blood test detects early-stage pancreatic cancer, study suggests

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A new blood test that combines four protein biomarkers can detect early-stage pancreatic cancer with nearly 88% accuracy, offering hope for earlier diagnosis of one of the deadliest cancers.

Dig deeper:

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is the most common type of pancreatic cancer and one of the deadliest cancers in the United States. 

Only about 1 in 10 patients live more than five years after they are diagnosed. 

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The disease is often found too late, when treatment is less likely to work. Although early detection could save lives, there is currently no routine screening test for early-stage pancreatic cancer.

In earlier research, a team led by Dr. Kenneth Zaret at the University of Pennsylvania studied whether two blood proteins—CA19-9 and THBS2—could help detect early-stage pancreatic cancer. 

High levels of CA19-9 can be a sign of pancreatic cancer, but they can also be elevated in other conditions, such as pancreatitis.

THBS2 is found in pancreatic tumors. However, measuring these proteins in the blood was not reliable enough to consistently detect early-stage disease.

Why you should care:

To create a better blood test, the researchers analyzed blood samples from 672 people, including patients with pancreatic cancer, healthy volunteers, and people with noncancerous pancreatic conditions such as pancreatitis. The study was published February 17, 2026, in Clinical Cancer Research.

They identified two new blood markers—aminopeptidase N (ANPEP) and polymeric immunoglobulin receptor (PIGR)—that were higher in people with early-stage pancreatic cancer than in healthy individuals. The team then developed a test that measures these two markers along with CA19-9 and THBS2.

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The combined test correctly distinguished pancreatic cancer from noncancer cases 91.9% of the time overall. For early-stage cancers (stage I and II), it correctly identified 87.5% of cases. The test also successfully separated cancer patients from healthy people and from those with other pancreatic conditions, such as pancreatitis.

What they're saying:

"Pancreatic cancer usually doesn’t present with symptoms until it’s too late for surgery, when the cancer has already metastasized to other parts of the body," Zaret said "Our goal was to look for biomarkers in the blood that appear in early-stage PDAC patients, to catch the disease early."

What's next:

Larger studies are needed to confirm these results. If confirmed, the test could be used to screen people at higher risk for pancreatic cancer, such as those with a family history of the disease, certain genetic risk factors, or a history of pancreatic cysts or pancreatitis. It could also help doctors decide which patients should get follow-up imaging tests.