Blood test research may aid early pancreatic cancer detection

Researchers report two blood markers, ANPEP and PIGR, and a four-marker panel that distinguished pancreatic cancer from noncancer cases with 91.9% overall accuracy and detected 87.5% of early-stage (I/II) cases.

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) accounts for most pancreatic cancers and has a low five-year survival rate because it is often diagnosed at a late stage. Current routine screening tests for early-stage pancreatic cancer are not available. A team led by Dr. Kenneth Zaret examined blood samples to look for biomarkers that appear in early-stage PDAC. Their study tested a panel combining new markers with previously studied proteins and reported results in Clinical Cancer Research on February 17, 2026. Key findings: - The study analyzed blood samples from 672 people, including patients with confirmed pancreatic cancer, healthy participants, and people with noncancer pancreatic conditions such as pancreatitis. - Two markers, aminopeptidase N (ANPEP) and polymeric immunoglobulin receptor (PIGR), were higher in people with early-stage pancreatic cancer than in healthy patients. - A combined panel measuring ANPEP, PIGR, CA19-9, and THBS2 distinguished pancreatic cancer cases from noncancer cases with 91.9% accuracy overall and identified 87.5% of stage I/II cases. - The panel differentiated cancer from both healthy people and from other pancreatic conditions in the groups studied. - The work is reported in Krusen et al., Clin Cancer Res., Feb 17, 2026 (doi: 10.1158/1078-0432.CCR-25-3297). Summary: The study reports a blood biomarker panel that distinguished pancreatic cancer from noncancer cases and detected a high proportion of early-stage cases in the tested samples. Further validation in larger and more diverse populations is needed; if confirmed, the researchers note the panel could be applied in settings focused on people at higher risk and to inform follow-up imaging. Undetermined at this time.