A Quest for Survival: A Review of the Early Biomarkers of Pancreatic Cancer and the Most Effective Approaches at Present

Pancreatic cancer (PC) is the most lethal type of cancer; it has the lowest 5-year survival rate among all other types of cancers. More than half of PC cases are diagnosed at an advanced stage due to PC's insidious and non-specific symptoms. Surgery remains the most efficacious treatment option currently available, but only 10-20% of PC cases are resectable upon diagnosis. As of now, the sole biomarker approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration (US-FDA) for PC is carbohydrate antigen 19-9 (CA19-9); however, its use is limited for early diagnosis. An increasing number of studies have investigated a combination of biomarkers. Lately, there has been considerable interest in the application of a liquid biopsy, including the utilization of microRNAs (miRNAs), circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA), and circulating tumor cells (CTCs). Screening for PC is indicated for high-risk patients; studies on new diagnostic models combined with biomarkers for early detection have also shown promising results in terms of the ability of these models and biomarkers to aid clinicians in deciding on whether to start screening. This review seeks to provide a concise overview of the advancements in relation to existing biomarkers and explore novel strategies for the early detection of PC.