Personal Genome Diagnostics Finds Potential New Ways to Fight Pancreatic Cancer

Personal Genome Diagnostics (PGD) has published an academic study concluding that there are far more "actionable" genes in tumors of pancreatic cancer patients than previously thought.

Working with researchers at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, the Baltimore-based PGD determined that there are mutations in genes MLL, MLL2, MLL3 and ARID1A that suggest therapeutic utility in about 35 percent of all patients. More than 40 percent of patients also have circulating tumor DNA at diagnosis. In case of relapse after a tumor has been removed, such DNA can be detected by a blood test more than six months earlier than with the use of CT scans. Pancreatic cancer is particularly deadly, with five-year survival rates even at detection at the earliest stages of the disease below 15 percent.

"This collaborative study highlights how combining large-scale genomic analyses with clinical data can yield valuable new knowledge for pancreatic cancer," said PGD Vice President of Research & Development Mark Sausen in a statement. "Despite some limitations, the data uncovered in this study has immediate implications for the treatment of pancreatic cancer."

The study was published in the journal Nature Communications.

Takeaway: Personal Genome Diagnostics' research may create some clinical pathways for better treating pancreatic cancer.