# BLOOD-BASED PROTEOMIC ASSAY FOR PANCREATIC CANCER DETECTION

> **NIH NIH UH2** · BAYLOR COLLEGE OF MEDICINE · 2024 · $292,729

## Abstract

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is a lethal disease that is usually asymptomatic at an early stage.
In addition, metastases can be present even when the cancer size is relatively small. Most PDAC patients
succumb within 6 months of diagnosis with only 12% of patients surviving more than five years. Clinical assays
that can assist detection of incipient and early PDAC when effective treatment is possible would improve the
survival rate and change the grim outlook of this disease. Unfortunately, CA19-9, the current blood-based
clinical biomarker for PDAC, does not provide the accuracy needed for diagnosis, even in high-risk groups of
patients. The demands on an effective biomarker for PDAC detection are considerably high compared to many
other cancer biomarkers, because while the disease is less common, it is more deadly. Mass spectrometry
(MS)-based methods have increasingly been emerging for clinical diagnosis, representing a technology ripe for
cancer biomarker detection in clinical settings. We have previously developed a MS-based proteomic assay
that significantly outperforms CA19-9 for PDAC blood detection. In this study, we aim to further validate this
existing assay for PDAC blood detection through collaborative, multi-discipline efforts. Our team will conduct
in-depth analytical and clinical validations to: 1) determine the performance characteristics and robustness of
the assay in the context of clinical utilization; 2) refine the assay accuracy and thresholds for PDAC detection
using well-annotated case-control cohorts from multiple centers; and 3) evaluate the efficacy of the assay for
early detection of PDAC using pre-diagnostic cohort. The development of this proteomic assay will provide a
non-invasive and affordable blood test to assist current work-up for PDAC detection in high-risk populations.
This study is well-aligned with NCI’s Special Interest in analytical and clinical validation of assays for early
detection of cancer using existing cohorts and prospective study designs.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10947204
- **Project number:** 1UH2CA292130-01
- **Recipient organization:** BAYLOR COLLEGE OF MEDICINE
- **Principal Investigator:** Ru Chen
- **Activity code:** UH2 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $292,729
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2024-09-13 → 2025-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10947204

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10947204, BLOOD-BASED PROTEOMIC ASSAY FOR PANCREATIC CANCER DETECTION (1UH2CA292130-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10947204. Licensed CC0.

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