Pancreatic cancer, the sixth leading cause of death from malignant tumors in Portugal, is difficult to diagnose. Symptoms often appear when the cancer is already “at an advanced and inoperable stage”.
Researchers from the Champalimaud Foundation have detected pre-malignant pancreatic lesions with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), for the first time, which could “pave the way” for the early and non-invasive detection of pancreatic cancer, .
The study that demonstrates, “for the first time, that a particular form of MRI is capable of robustly detecting pre-malignant lesions in the pancreas” is released this Friday in .
Pancreatic cancer, the third leading cause of death from malignant tumors in the United States and the sixth in Portugal, is difficult to diagnose, indicating data from the North American National Cancer Institute that the five-year survival rate is estimated at 44 % when the disease is localized and around 3% when there are metastases.
Not only yours symptoms “are not specific”, being “easily confused with those of other diseases”, such as they usually appear when the cancer is already “at an advanced and inoperable stage”indicates a statement from the foundation.
As for the lesions that may precede pancreatic cancer – “the majority develop from a precursor lesion called pancreatic intraepithelial neoplasia (PanIN)” – the problem is the “absence of non-invasive diagnostic tools for early detection” of the same.
“Ninety-five percent of pancreatic cancers are so-called pancreatic ductal adenocarcinomas”, the majority linked to PanIN, which explains the importance of its detection “to diagnose the disease at an early stage”.
This would also allow “the investigation of the biology of PanIN and the genesis of pancreatic tumors in humans.”
The “urgent need to develop imaging methods for the diagnosis and characterization of PanIN, which could allow early diagnosis before the onset of pancreatic cancer” was the objective of the new studyled by Noam Shemesh, principal investigator at the Preclinical MRI laboratory at Champalimaud Research, and by Carlos Bilreiro, radiologist at the Radiology Service at the Champalimaud Clinical Center.
The researchers discovered that It is possible to detect PanIN using a form of MRI called “diffusion tensor imaging” (DTI), having obtained, according to the foundation, “exciting imaging results”.
This type of MRI “is not a new method”, being “normally used to obtain images of the brain”, says Noam Shemesh, quoted in the statement, adding that, however, “it has never been applied in the context of precursor lesions of breast cancer.” pancreas”, the idea of doing so was Carlos Bilreiro, the first author of the study.
The research leaders then attempted to “discover which MRI method could contrast PanIN, distinguishing them from simple, benign pancreatic cysts” and, with clinical use in mind, “the most efficient strategy was, in fact, to test a method that already exists, rather than developing something completely new – and unvalidated.”
Using DTI, the team “was able to detect (…) the microstructural changes that characterize PanIN in pancreatic tissue samples and ‘in vivo’ in transgenic mice prone to developing these lesions.”
In addition, “patient samples” were obtained and the study shows that “the results generalize to humans”, says Shemesh.
“I believe that this study represents a milestone in the investigation of pre-malignant lesions of pancreatic cancer”, points out, in turn, Carlos Bilreiro, cited in the statement.
“We are now able to detect these lesions in animals and better understand how pancreatic cancer develops. We also know that DTI is equally effective in the human pancreas. As for its clinical application, further studies will be needed that adapt the technique to the clinical context and that explore intervention or surveillance possibilities in pre-malignant lesions. This study thus represents a first step towards early detection of pancreatic cancer with MRI, even before the cancer develops..”
Shemesh, who highlights the importance of this type of collaboration, mentions that the project took years to develop and involved “a huge effort and a huge amount of work”, but considers that “in the end it was worth it and ended up being very, very exciting”.
