NHS launches new life-saving initiative to find pancreatic cancer patients earlier
Pancreatic cancer is the deadliest common cancer in the UK. Survival rates are so low because patients are not diagnosed in time for life-saving surgery. More than 80% of patients are diagnosed too late, when their only option is palliative care. This is why early diagnosis is key to improving survival rates of pancreatic cancer, and why research is crucial.
NHS England has launched a new initiative which aims to save thousands of lives by identifying patients who are at risk of developing pancreatic cancer.
This project stems from research conducted by the University of Surrey, funded by Pancreatic Cancer Action in 2020.
This research established associations between weight loss, new onset diabetes and pancreatic cancer, and found that these relationships can be seen 2 and 3 years prior to a diagnosis of pancreatic cancer, respectively. This is a major breakthrough in establishing risk factors to aid earlier diagnosis of pancreatic cancer.
As a result of the initial research that was published in 2022, NHS England have invested almost £2million into this new pilot 3-year pilot. Over 300 GP practices in England will search for patient records who are at risk of developing pancreatic cancer. These patients will present with a BMI of less than 30, who have been recently diagnosed with diabetes and are over 60 years old. Patients who are identified will then be referred for further testing for pancreatic cancer. By being diagnosed earlier than currently achieved, patient outcomes are much better, with a greater chance of survival.
We are very proud to have funded the initial seed-funding to the University of Surrey, who established the association between weight-loss, new onset diabetes and pancreatic cancer. Without which, this NHS England project would not have been possible. We are also very proud to continue to work with NHS England on this project as the pilot develops.
This clearly demonstrates the impact that seed-funding can have on research teams like the one at the University of Surrey, who required modest funding to get their research project off the ground. At Pancreatic Cancer Action, we are very proud that we were able to provide this funding, to help apply their findings in clinical practice, and save thousands of lives.
We could not have funded this research without your help. Please consider donating or fundraising for our cause, to help us provide similar opportunities in the future, to make more breakthroughs in the fight against pancreatic cancer.