Inaugural tumour marker developed for pancreatic cancer patients

Researchers at the London NHS Trust, Barts Hospital and Queen Mary University's Institute of Cancer have developed the first reliable urine test for the most common form of pancreatic cancer.

The disease is one of the most difficult to diagnose and CT and MRI scans are often unable to detect small tumours due to the position of the pancreas – close to the spine and behind major organs.

In addition, symptoms are often vague such as weight loss, abdominal pain or jaundice.

However, now experts in the UK have discovered raised levels of a specific protein in the urine of patients with pancreatic tumours can serve as a clinical marker, allowing them to make more reliable diagnoses.

Dr David Tuveson, group leader in tumour modelling and experimental medicine at the Cambridge Research Institute, explained that around 20 per cent of people with pancreatic cancer have a family history of the disease.

He said: "Some places in the world screen family members where there is a clear family history but the major challenge has been to find a reliable way to monitor these people and intervene at the right time. This promising research could give us a new way to do this."

Statistics show that the disease is the fourth most common cause of cancer death in the Western world.

A new study suggests that statins should be prescribed to healthy people on the NHS to prevent unexpected heart attacks and strokes . Statins could be prescribed to healthy people on the NHS ...

A prosthetic retina to help people suffering from age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is being developed by scientists in the U.S. Macular degeneration affects the macular, a tiny part of the retina at the...

Heart transplant patients are less likely to develop cancer if they take statins after surgery, according to a new study. A heart transplant is an operation to replace a diseased heart with a healthy human...

A pioneering knee operation for arthritis sufferers has been successfully carried out for the first time in the UK. Knee replacement surgery involves replacing a damaged, worn or diseased knee with an...

A deadly strain of hospital superbug MRSA has become resistant to last-line antibiotics. MRSA is a type of bacterial infection that is resistant to a number of widely used antibiotics. The bacterium is...