Scientists at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, have discovered a sign of the early development of pancreatic cancer. According to them, extremely high levels of amino acids in the bloodstream are linked to an increased risk of pancreatic cancer. This discovery would pave the way for an early detection of panc.

"Most people with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) [by far the most common form of cancreatic cancer are diagnosed after the disease has reached an advanced stage, and many die within a year of diagnosis," said Mr Brian Wolpin, co-author of the study. He said, "Detecting the disease earlier in its development may improve our ability to treat it successfully. In this study, we asked whether PDAC produces metabolic changes that can be detected before the disease is diagnosed."

The finding came from the analysis of blood samples from 1,500 people taking part in large health tracking studies.

"We found that higher levels of branched chain amino acids were present in people who went on to develop pancreatic cancer, compared to those who did not develop the disease. These findings led us to hypothesize that the increase in branched chain amino acids is due to the presence of an early pancreatic tumor," said Dr Wolpin.