Pancreatic cancer is the 4th leading cause of cancer death in the United States. The majority of patients present with unresectable disease leading a median survival of 6 months and an overall 5-year survival of < 5%. The early detection of this disease is critical because surgery at an early stage is the most promising therapy that could greatly improve the prognosis of patients. The current existing serum markers such as CA19-9 lack the necessary sensitivity and specificity. Multiplex immunoassay simultaneously measuring multiple analytes in the same sample using minimum volume allows us to evaluate serum biomarker panels that can potentially complement CA19-9 in early detection of pancreatic cancer. JHU researchers have developed magnetic bead-based multiplex immunoassays to evaluate serum biomarkers for the early detection of pancreatic cancer.
