PRISM
Program: Support the Pancreatic Cancer Project

Project Team: Prof. Michel Ducreux, Dr. Antoine Hollebecque, Dr. Leonor Benhaim

How can we develop an early-detection test?

Pancreatic cancer is fatal in 90% of cases. This cancer is currently the fourth leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide but will soon become the second leading cause of cancer-related mortality. It is estimated that more than 400,000 people die from pancreatic cancer worldwide each year. However, if this cancer is detected at an early stage, the cure rate is 80%.

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Project Objective:

• To develop a technology based on the detection of molecules in plasma or urine, in order to detect pancreatic cancer at an early stage and thereby increase the chances of recovery.

Project phases:

• Step 1: Analyze the molecular profile of 200 very early-stage pancreatic tumors. This analysis will identify molecular abnormalities specific to pancreatic cancer compared to healthy tissue. We will then investigate whether these abnormalities are present in the plasma and urine of the same patients whose tumors were analyzed.
• Step 2: Provided that Step 1 yields satisfactory results, we will analyze the molecular profiles of 200 new patients with pancreatic cancer and 200 healthy volunteers. If these analyses confirm the test’s performance, we will subsequently conduct a study to validate the benefit of this screening test in terms of reducing mortality.

Impact of the project:

It is estimated that if this screening test were implemented worldwide, it could save nearly 100,000 lives each year.

To ensure the success of the PRISM project, we need your support.