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Editor’s note: The “Research Spotlight” series is written by Dr. Anna Berkenblit, PanCAN’s Chief Scientific and Medical Officer. Each month, Dr. Berkenblit shares her insights into the latest news and research in pancreatic cancer. Follow Dr. Berkenblit on X and LinkedIn.
This month is Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month when we are shining a light on the disease. As part of the month, I recently had the opportunity to host a roundtable of scientists and researchers who are leading the way to early detection of pancreatic cancer and raising awareness of risk factors and symptoms.
The good news is that progress is happening faster than ever. Exciting new tools like artificial intelligence (AI) that can detect subtle patterns in CT scans, data platforms such as PanCAN’s SPARK, and innovative blood tests are helping researchers uncover new ways to find pancreatic cancer earlier. AI has the potential to unlock approaches that were previously impossible, identifying warning signs that might otherwise go unnoticed.
New blood tests are also being developed that could make early detection even more accessible, giving treatment the best chance to work. Some of these tests, called MCEDs (multi-cancer early detection tests), can screen for multiple types of cancer at once, including pancreatic cancer. While MCEDs are already available, researchers are waiting for results from large ongoing studies to see whether they truly improve survival. If they do, they could be a game-changer in how we screen for cancer overall.
For now, while we have established screening strategies such as mammograms for breast cancer and colonoscopies for colorectal cancer, pancreatic cancer doesn’t yet have a standard screening test for the general population. However, there are options for people who are considered higher risk, such as blood tests like ClearNote Health’s Avantect and Immunovia’s PancreaSure. These tests, alongside tools like AI and advanced imaging, represent the kind of targeted, personalized approaches that could transform early detection and give patients a better chance at successful treatment.
An innovative approach to detecting pancreatic cancer earlier was recently highlighted in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute (JNCI) in a paper titled, “Heuriskance: a novel paradigm for systematic earlier detection of sporadic pancreatic cancer”. PanCAN’s Chief Science Advisor Lynn Matrisian, PhD, MBA, is the lead author of this study. The paper introduces the heuriskance framework, which aims to detect pancreatic cancer earlier by looking for specific early warning signs or “red flags” instead of relying on broad screening for everyone. The idea is that when someone shows a strong early warning signal, a “heurisk,” they’re identified as someone who may benefit from a closer look with a one-time workup. One such signal could be the sudden onset of diabetes in someone over age 50, especially in the setting of weight loss. The approach is about Define → Enrich → Find: define who to watch, enrich by identifying those at higher risk, and then find the disease early with focused tests.
This framework offers hope for catching pancreatic cancer at a stage when it can be intercepted. It puts more power in identifying who really needs further tests (such as imaging, biomarkers, etc.), which means resources and attention go where they can make the biggest difference. It’s an exciting step toward smarter, more targeted early detection that helps doctors focus on the people who need it most.
The heuriskance framework aligns closely with PanCAN’s Early Detection Initiative (EDI) which leverages the concept of new onset diabetes monitoring and other high-risk signals to identify participants for closer pancreas surveillance. The goal is to find pancreatic cancer sooner before it has a chance to spread or become harder to treat.
This combination of research, technology, and community action turns awareness into practical results. It means doctors can identify people who need further testing sooner, patients have more options for treatment, and the PanCAN community continues to push forward toward the day when fewer people are diagnosed too late. But hope needs to lead to action. That means helping primary care doctors recognize early warning signs, encouraging people at higher risk to participate in screening or research studies, and all of us continuing to raise awareness, funding, and policy support for pancreatic cancer research.
