Chinese team’s new DNA blood test could transform pancreatic cancer detection

A genomic tool developed by researchers in China could transform early detection and personalised treatment for pancreatic cancer – one of the deadliest forms of the disease.

Known as the “king of cancers”, pancreatic cancer is characterised by late diagnosis, rapid metastasis and limited treatment targets. It ranks as the sixth leading cause of global cancer mortality, according to the Global Cancer Observatory.

However, the “Uni-C” single-cell “multiomics” technology developed by the Chinese team could enable entire DNA analysis in less than a day, matching the accuracy of traditional biopsies and promising more early detection.

Lin Da, professor at the Guangzhou Institutes of Biomedicine and Health, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), and Yang Yuqin, director of the Laboratory Animal Centre at Shanghai General Hospital, led the team, which introduced Uni-C in a study published in Nature Communications on July 26.

The pathbreaking method can simultaneously decode three critical layers of genomic information from individual circulating tumour cells (CTCs) – large-scale structural variations, small-scale mutations, and 3D chromatin architecture – providing unprecedented insights for early screening, monitoring, and tailored immunotherapy.

CTCs are rare “seeds” shed from tumours into the bloodstream, carrying the complete genomic profile of the primary tumour. Yet their scarcity – often just a few cells per millilitre (0.03 ounce) of blood – has made comprehensive analysis nearly impossible.

South China Morning Post