UK Launches Pilot Pancreatic Cancer Screening Targeting High-Risk Patients

Multiple initiatives and studies in the UK are focusing on early detection of pancreatic cancer, a disease with a poor prognosis and often diagnosed late due to subtle symptoms. The NHS is piloting a £2 million screening program targeting over-60s with recent diabetes diagnoses or sudden weight loss, aiming to identify the disease at treatable stages. Concurrently, ClearNote Health's Avantect blood test, which analyzes epigenomic biomarkers, is being trialed in a large multi-center study led by University Hospital Southampton to detect pancreatic cancer early among patients newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, showing promising accuracy around 68%. This test is part of the SAFE-D study and is seen as a potential breakthrough in identifying pancreatic cancer much earlier than current methods allow. Furthermore, Can-Fite BioPharma is advancing a Phase IIa clinical trial for Namodenoson, a novel oral drug for advanced pancreatic cancer patients who have exhausted standard therapies, highlighting ongoing efforts for both early detection and treatment. These combined efforts reflect a growing emphasis on identifying pancreatic cancer sooner to improve survival rates and developing new therapeutic options for advanced cases.