By the time most patients learn they have it, surgery is no longer an option.
El cáncer de páncreas ha sido durante décadas una sentencia silenciosa, diagnosticada casi siempre cuando la cirugía ya no es posible. Un equipo de investigadores españoles del CSIC y el Instituto Hospital del Mar de Barcelona ha desarrollado un prototipo de análisis de sangre capaz de detectar este tumor en minutos, utilizando una tira reactiva similar a las pruebas rápidas de COVID. El dispositivo identifica la proteína sAXL, presente en más del 70% de los tumores pancreáticos, y representa un primer paso hacia lo que podría ser una detección temprana accesible y transformadora.
- El cáncer de páncreas mata tarde y en silencio: más del 85% de los diagnósticos llegan cuando la cirugía curativa ya no es viable, lo que lo convierte en la tercera causa de muerte por cáncer en países desarrollados.
- La proteína sAXL, sobreexpresada en más de siete de cada diez tumores pancreáticos, ofrece una señal biológica detectable en sangre antes de que la enfermedad alcance fases irreversibles.
- El prototipo emplea tecnología de inmunoensayo de flujo lateral cuantitativo —la misma lógica que una prueba de embarazo— para analizar una gota de plasma en minutos, sin laboratorio especializado.
- Validado frente al método ELISA en 20 pacientes con cáncer y 20 controles sanos en Barcelona, el test demostró coherencia diagnóstica, aunque los investigadores advierten que aún necesita optimización y cohortes más amplias.
- El equipo planea expandir los ensayos y afinar la sensibilidad del dispositivo antes de su aplicación clínica, con la vista puesta en convertirlo en una herramienta de cribado rutinaria, portátil y económica.
El cáncer de páncreas mata en silencio. Cuando la mayoría de los pacientes reciben el diagnóstico, la cirugía —única vía curativa real— ya no es posible. Más del 85% de los casos se detectan en ese punto de no retorno, lo que explica por qué esta enfermedad ocupa el tercer lugar en mortalidad por cáncer en los países desarrollados.
Investigadores del Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC) y del Instituto Hospital del Mar de Barcelona han desarrollado un prototipo de análisis de sangre que puede identificar el cáncer de páncreas en minutos. El dispositivo utiliza una tira reactiva y una gota de plasma para detectar la proteína sAXL, que aparece en concentraciones anormalmente elevadas en más del 70% de los tumores pancreáticos. Los resultados se publicaron en la revista Talanta tras probar el test en 20 pacientes con cáncer y 20 personas sanas.
La tecnología empleada —inmunoensayo de flujo lateral cuantitativo— es la misma que subyace a las pruebas rápidas de COVID o de embarazo. Juan Pablo Salvador, investigador del Instituto de Química Avanzada de Cataluña y autor principal del estudio, destacó que es la primera vez que esta técnica se aplica para detectar sAXL en plasma sanguíneo. Al comparar los resultados con el método ELISA, considerado el estándar de referencia en detección de proteínas, el nuevo test demostró solidez diagnóstica.
Pilar Navarro, coordinadora del grupo de investigación Molecular Cancer Targets en el Instituto de Investigación Biomédica de Barcelona, subrayó que la validación frente a métodos establecidos confirma la relevancia clínica del dispositivo. La investigadora ve en este desarrollo un camino hacia la detección rutinaria del cáncer de páncreas, con un test sencillo, portátil y económico.
Sin embargo, el equipo es prudente. Núria Vázquez-Bellón, primera autora del estudio, lo califica de prometedor primer paso que aún requiere optimización. Los investigadores planean ampliar las cohortes de pacientes y mejorar la sensibilidad antes de pensar en su uso clínico real. Por ahora, este prototipo es una posibilidad —una que todavía necesita recorrer un largo camino antes de llegar a quienes más la necesitan.
Pancreatic cancer kills quietly and late. By the time most patients learn they have it, surgery—the only real cure—is no longer an option. More than 85 percent of diagnoses arrive at this point of no return, which is partly why the disease ranks as the third deadliest cancer in developed countries. A team of Spanish researchers believes they may have found a way to catch it earlier, before it becomes untreatable.
Scientists at Spain's National Research Council (CSIC) and the Hospital del Mar Research Institute in Barcelona have built a prototype blood test that can identify pancreatic cancer in minutes using a single drop of plasma and a reactive strip—technology familiar to anyone who has used a rapid COVID or pregnancy test. The test hunts for a protein called sAXL, which appears at abnormally high levels in more than 70 percent of pancreatic tumors. The researchers published their findings in the journal Talanta after testing the device on 20 cancer patients and 20 healthy controls at the Barcelona hospital.
The protein sAXL normally sits on cell surfaces and plays a role in the body's routine functions. But in certain cancers, including pancreatic adenocarcinoma—the most common and lethal form of pancreatic cancer—it becomes overexpressed. Years ago, researchers discovered that when sAXL appears in the bloodstream in high concentrations, it signals the presence of an existing tumor. This observation became the foundation for the new test.
The device uses what researchers call quantitative lateral flow immunoassay, a technique that measures the concentration of a substance in a liquid sample. Juan Pablo Salvador, a researcher at the Institute of Advanced Chemistry in Catalonia and lead author of the study, emphasized that this marks the first time this particular diagnostic approach has been applied to detect sAXL in blood plasma. The team optimized various components of the test to improve its sensitivity, reproducibility, and signal clarity—the ability to clearly distinguish between cancer patients and healthy people. When they compared their results against ELISA, the gold-standard laboratory technique for protein detection, the new test held up.
Pilar Navarro, who coordinates the Molecular Cancer Targets research group at the Barcelona Biomedical Research Institute, noted that validating the test against established methods confirmed its diagnostic relevance. She and her colleagues see this as a step toward bringing pancreatic cancer detection into routine clinical practice, potentially improving survival through earlier diagnosis. The test is simple, portable, and inexpensive—qualities that matter in a healthcare system stretched thin.
But the researchers are careful not to oversell what they have built. Núria Vázquez-Bellón, the first author of the study, called it a promising first step that still requires optimization before it can be used in actual clinical settings. The team plans to expand their testing to larger patient populations and continue refining the test's sensitivity. Salvador and Navarro stressed that the urgent clinical need is clear: tools that are fast, accessible, and minimally invasive could transform how pancreatic cancer is detected and when patients begin treatment. For now, this prototype represents a possibility—one that will require more work before it reaches the patients who need it most.
Notable Quotes
This represents a promising first step, though the system still requires optimization before possible clinical application.— Núria Vázquez-Bellón, lead researcher
The tool aims to bring pancreatic cancer detection into routine clinical practice and improve patient survival through early diagnosis.— Pilar Navarro, research coordinator
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
Why does pancreatic cancer stay hidden until it's too late?
The tumor grows deep inside the body, surrounded by other organs. There are no early symptoms that would send someone to a doctor. By the time pain or jaundice appears, the cancer has usually spread beyond what surgery can fix.
And this protein, sAXL—it's always present in the blood?
It's present in healthy people too, but at normal levels. In pancreatic cancer, it spikes dramatically. The test is looking for that spike, that abnormal signal.
How is this different from existing blood tests for cancer?
This is the first time anyone has used this particular detection method—lateral flow immunoassay—to measure sAXL specifically. It's faster and simpler than traditional lab tests, and it works on a strip you could theoretically use in a clinic or even a doctor's office.
What's holding it back from being used right now?
They've only tested it on 40 people total. They need to prove it works reliably on hundreds or thousands of patients. They also need to make sure the test is sensitive enough to catch early cancers, not just advanced ones.
If this works, what changes?
Patients could get diagnosed when surgery is still possible. Right now, 85 percent of diagnoses happen too late. Even a small shift toward earlier detection could save lives.
How long until patients can actually use this?
That's unclear. The researchers say it needs optimization before clinical application. That could mean another year or two of development, maybe more.