Pancreatic cancer is the deadliest common cancer. Finding it early can greatly improve the outcome for patients.
For people aged 50 and over, a new diabetes diagnosis can sometimes be an early sign of pancreatic cancer. Fortunately, for 99 out of 100 people, their new diabetes isn't caused by pancreatic cancer, and their risk is low. However, for one in 100 people in this age group, new-onset diabetes is followed within three years by a diagnosis of pancreatic cancer. Sadly, there is no screening test for pancreatic cancer that can be used in this group, so the opportunity to detect it early is missed.
The UK-EDI programme was established to collect samples and information from people aged 50 and older who have recently been diagnosed with diabetes. The goal is to identify the 1 in 100 individuals in this group who has pancreatic cancer. Funded by Cancer Research UK, we aim to develop a simple, quick, and affordable test to identify people newly diagnosed with diabetes who should be prioritized for pancreatic cancer screening and further tests.