The study team hope that between 2,500 and 5,000 people will join Precision Panc.
The study is in 2 parts.
Part 1 (screening)
In part 1, the researchers will ask you to give tissue samples. You have a biopsy as part of your routine diagnosis.
A specialist doctor called a pathologist will examine the samples if you have suspected pancreatic cancer. They will confirm if you do or don’t have cancer. The results are usually available between 2 and 4 weeks after taking the samples. Your doctor will talk to you about your test results.
It is routine for the doctor to take 2 to 3 tissue samples when doing a biopsy. But if you join this study they will take up to 5. They will also ask you to give some blood samples. Where possible you give these at the same time as your routine blood samples.
Please note, you might not need to give another tissue sample if you have already been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and there is a tissue sample available. The local pathologist will check if it's suitable and send it to the trial team for further tests.
Part 2 (looking at the genetic make up of the cancer)
Part 2 is for people whose tissue samples show they have pancreatic cancer. In part 2, the pathologist will study the samples in much more detail. They will use the latest technology to look at:
You don’t have to agree for the researchers to look for inherited genes if you don’t want to. You can still take part in the study.
The researchers might use the samples for future research.
The study team will ask you to fill in a short questionnaire about your medical history and your family’s. This should take around 30 minutes to complete.
The multi disciplinary team (MDT) made up of cancer doctors, surgeons and researchers will review the results of the tissue sample tests. They hope this information might help them decide which of the studies you might be suitable for. For example, the Primus 001 study or Primus 002.
But there is a chance there won’t be a suitable treatment. As new treatments become available in the future, they hope to be able to match you to one of these.