Urine test can detect cancer of pancreas

£1.6million invested in study

A URINE test that can diagnose pancreatic cancer – one of the most deadly forms of the disease – has been developed by scientists.

It could increase survival rates for those diagnosed while their tumour is still small to 60 per cent.

Currently, just five per cent of pancreatic cancer patients are still alive five years after diagnosis.

The first-ever urine test to detect early-stage pancreatic cancer will be tested on more than 3000 patients in a £1.6million clinical study.

Nearly 10,000 people are diagnosed each year in the BY MARTIN BAGOT UK and it has the lowest survival rate of any common cancer. This is mainly due to late diagnosis as more than 85 per cent of patients are told they have the cancer once it is too late for surgery.

The test, developed by experts at London’s Queen Mary University, has now reached the final stage of validation before being developed for use with patients.

Maggie Blanks, founder of the Pancreatic Cancer Research Fund, which funds the trial, said: “The need for early detection is urgent.”