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USA Today (1/21, Szabo) reports, "An experimental blood test" may help detect more pancreatic cancer cases "early, at least in high-risk patients...according to" research presented at the Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium. The test works by measuring "a protein made by pancreatic tumors called PAM-4." In a study of "68 patients who had surgery for pancreatic cancer and 19 healthy volunteers," researchers found that the test "detected 62 percent of early tumors and 90 percent of more advanced cancers."

WebMD (1/20, Laino) reported that the PAM-4 protein "appears to be very specific for pancreatic cancer," because "it's rarely found in normal tissue or other cancers," the researchers noted. They added that "the antibody also shows promise for treating the disease by acting as a carrier for radiation or drugs that can target and kill pancreatic cancer cells."