Sign in Subscribe
Genetic research

Multimodal Pancreatic Cancer Detection Using Methylated DNA Biomarkers

Strategic Insights

— 2 min read

A new prospective multicenter study by researchers at the Mayo Clinic has found that combining pancreatic juice (PJ) and plasma carbohydrate antigen 19-9 (CA 19-9) biomarkers can enhance diagnostic sensitivity and improve early detection of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). The study, published in Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology, evaluated the sensitivity and specificity of a panel of PJ-methylated DNA markers (MDMs) in detecting PDAC, and found that a combination of PJ-MDMs and plasma CA 19-9 discriminates PDAC from healthy and disease control groups with high accuracy.

Key Takeaways:

  • A panel of 14 PJ-MDMs (NDRG4, BMP3, TBX15, C13orf18, PRKCB, CLEC11A, CD1D, ELMO1, IGF2BP1, RYR2, ADCY1, FER1L4, EMX1, and LRRC4) was analyzed using long-probe quantitative amplified signal assay to detect methylated DNA markers in pancreatic juice.
  • The 3-MDM PJ panel (FER1L4, C13orf18, and BMP3) had an area under the receiver-operating characteristic curve (AUROC) of 0.87 (95% CI, 0.82-0.92), indicating a moderate level of accuracy.
  • A combination of PJ-MDMs and plasma CA 19-9 had an AUROC of 0.95 (95% CI, 0.92-0.98), indicating high accuracy in detecting PDAC.
  • At a specificity of 88% (95% CI, 81%-93%), the sensitivity of this model was 89% (95% CI, 80%-94%) for all PDAC stages and 83% (95% CI, 64%-94%) for stage I/II PDAC.
  • The study found that a combination of PJ-MDMs and plasma CA 19-9 can discriminate PDAC from healthy and disease control groups with high accuracy.

Statistics:

  • 88 biopsy-proven treatment-naive PDAC cases and 134 controls were analyzed in the study.
  • 14 PJ-MDMs were analyzed using long-probe quantitative amplified signal assay.
  • The 3-MDM PJ panel had an AUROC of 0.87 (95% CI, 0.82-0.92).
  • A combination of PJ-MDMs and plasma CA 19-9 had an AUROC of 0.95 (95% CI, 0.92-0.98).
  • At a specificity of 88% (95% CI, 81%-93%), the sensitivity of this model was 89% (95% CI, 80%-94%) for all PDAC stages and 83% (95% CI, 64%-94%) for stage I/II PDAC.

Sources:

  • Multimodal Pancreatic Cancer Detection Using Methylated Dna Biomarkers In Pancreatic Juice and Plasma Ca 19-9: a Prospective Multicenter Study. Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology, 2025;23(5):766-775.
  • Mayo Clinic, Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, 200 First St SW, Rochester, MN 55905, United States.
  • NewsRx. New Cancer Detection Findings Reported from Mayo Clinic (Multimodal Pancreatic Cancer Detection Using Methylated Dna Biomarkers In Pancreatic Juice and Plasma Ca 19-9: a Prospective Multicenter Study). Cancer Weekly. May 13, 2025; p 608.

Read more