Dr John Timms

Department of Gynaecological Oncology
University College London
London

Searching for better tests for pancreatic cancer

Pancreatic cancer is often diagnosed at an advanced stage, making it very difficult to treat. Dr John Timms heads the Cancer Proteomics group at University College London. His team is looking for biomarkers that could lead to better tests for the disease, and help doctors to detect it earlier.

Dr Timms’ team is looking at a large number of different proteins in blood samples from people with pancreatic cancer, and comparing them to healthy people. Proteins that are found at significantly different levels in people with pancreatic cancer might be early indicators of the disease. Dr Timms hopes to develop a simple blood test that measures these protein levels.

The team is also looking at samples from people who were healthy when the blood sample was taken, but went on to develop pancreatic cancer. This should allow researchers to identify very early signs of the disease, which means people can be treated as soon as possible. And they are looking at people who don’t have cancer, but have a benign disease such as pancreatitis, which has similar symptoms to pancreatic cancer. Being able to distinguish between the two could save people without cancer from unnecessary treatment.

Current tests for pancreatic cancer can be uncomfortable for the patient, so a simple blood test would be very welcome. Ultimately, this research should allow doctors to diagnose pancreatic cancer earlier and treat the disease promptly.