The CSIC identifies a new biomarker for the early diagnosis of pancreatic cancer

CSIC researchers have identified a new early diagnostic biomarker for the most common pancreatic cancer, pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma, which is the third leading cause of cancer death in developed countries. The finding is key, since it allows detection through a blood test and because, so far, there is no biomarker for early detection of pancreatic cancer.

The finding has been led by researchers from the Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute (IMIM-Hospital del Mar) and the Barcelona Biomedical Research Institute (IIBB-CSIC), a CSIC center associated with the August Pi i Sunyer Biomedical Research Institute ( IDIBAPS).

Published in the journal ‘eBioMedicine’, the discovery associates the presence of protein tyrosine kinase AXL to the detection of this type of tumors. The work has analyzed the usefulness of the receptor tyrosine-kinase AXL, a protein present on the surface of cells, to detect the presence of pancreatic cancer. This protein is usually absent in normal cells, although it is It is notably observed in certain types of tumors, such as pancreatic.

“The AXL protein is a specific marker that tells us that there are already malignant cells. The fact that this marker is linked to cells in the tumor stage gives it great importance due to its specificity in diagnosing pancreatic cancer,” says Pilar. Navarro, researcher at the IIBB-CSIC and the IMIM-Hospital del Mar.

To demonstrate the diagnostic utility of this marker using a blood test, the researchers analyzed samples from more than 200 patients with chronic pancreatitis and pancreatic tumors. “In this way, the presence of the soluble AXL protein in blood was demonstrated as a marker in patients who had already developed the tumor, without being present either in healthy individuals or in those suffering from chronic pancreatitis”, emphasize Neus Martínez-Bosch, researcher from the IMIM-Hospital del Mar and Helena Cristóbal, from the IIBB (CSIC-IDIBAPS), co-first signatories of the work.

This conclusion allows progress in the detection of pancreatic cancer by identifying the tumor even in patients with pancreatitis, a pathology that can make diagnosis difficult. Thus, a new diagnostic marker is obtained, a very valuable tool, since the scarcity of markers means that only 20% of patients can be operated on time, promoting metastasis and resistance to treatment.

This new marker represents a great innovation in the detection of a type of cancer for which there is no early diagnosis biomarker. CA19-9 protein is currently used only to assess response to treatment, but cannot be used in diagnosis because of its low specificity. “For this reason, having a new tool is of special relevance, especially considering that early diagnosis is essential for tumor surgery, the only curative treatment option”, highlights Laura Visa, doctor in the Oncology Service Doctor of the Hospital del Mar.

The future of the study is related to the analysis of patients who may benefit from this new marker, since a small number of pancreatic tumors do not express the AXL protein. However, the combination of the analysis of both proteins, CA19-9 and AXL, determines the presence of cancer cells with a sensitivity of 90%. “We are very interested in knowing why some cancers do not express AXL, this could give us clues to know how the tumor mechanisms work that we could use as targets for treatments”, concludes Pablo García de Frutos, researcher at the IIBB (CSIC-IDIBAPS).