THE pancreatic cancer, of which pancreatic adenocarcinoma is the most common type, continues to grow, particularly in women. Between 1990 and 2018, the incidence rate of this cancer increased at an average rate of 2.7% per year in men and, more steadily, by 3.8% in women. It is also a very badly diagnosed cancer because it is often detected at an advanced or metastatic stage.
Currently, less than one in 20 people with pancreatic adenocarcinoma survive after 5 years. Earlier detection could improve those odds. Researchers at the University of Heidelberg, Germany, have therefore studied the path of screening for the disease via the microbiome and saliva. They analyzed 100 sputum samples and 212 stool and pancreatic tissue samples from 57 Spanish adults newly diagnosed with the ductal form of pancreatic cancer and before treatment, 25 with early-stage disease and 32 with advanced disease. . 50 healthy people were included in the test as well as 29 people with chronic pancreatitis, a known risk factor for pancreatic cancer.
The conclusions of the saliva tests are inconclusive. In contrast, a distinct microbial profile was observed in stool samples from people with ductal pancreatic cancer compared to people with chronic pancreatitis and those without either disease.
“This microbial profile consistently identified patients with disease regardless of disease progression, suggesting that characteristic microbiome signatures emerge early and that the stool microbiome may detect disease at an early stage, according to the findings. researchers, who published their study in Gut magazine.
Source : A faecal microbiota signature with high specificity for pancreatic cancer, Gut British medical journal, March 2022
