Saliva test may be able to diagnose pancreatic cancer
Date: 29 May, 2014
Recently presented results could form the basis for a test to diagnose disease in its early stages.
Research presented at the recent annual meeting of the American Society for Microbiology (MA, USA) has demonstrated that patients with pancreatic cancer have a distinct profile of specific bacteria compared with healthy individuals, and even patients with other types of cancer or other pancreatic diseases. According to the authors of the work, these findings could now form the foundations for a test to diagnose patients with pancreatic cancer in its early stages.
In the US, approximately 40,000 people die every year as a result of pancreatic adenocarcinoma, the fourth leading cause of cancer-related death. In the majority of cases, symptoms are not evident until the cancer has become untreatable and as a result pancreatic cancer has a 5-year survival rate of just 21.5%.
Presenting the research was Pedro Torres of San Diego State University (CA, USA), who with his colleagues, compared the diversity of saliva across 131 patients (63 female, 68 male) being treated at the University of California, San Diego Moores Cancer Center (CA, USA). Results demonstrated that of those patients, individuals diagnosed with pancreatic cancer had increased levels of two oral bacteria, Leptotrichia and Campylobacter, when compared with any other healthy or diseased state, included non-cancerous pancreatic disease. Those diagnosed with pancreatic cancer also had lower levels of Streptococcus, Treponema and Veillonella.
Commenting on the work, Torres said, “Our results suggest the presence of a consistently distinct microbial profile for pancreatic cancer. We may be able to detect pancreatic cancer at its early stages by taking individuals’ saliva and looking at the ratios of these bacteria.”
