PANEXPEL: New Biomarkers in Pancreatic Cancer Using EXPEL Concept

The investigators recently engineered a novel biomarker discovery approach that is non-destructive and fully compatible with OMICS profiling as well as routine clinical procedures (5). The latter approach - termed EXPEL - mines the interstitial tissue fluid that is the richest source of soluble, undiluted and uncontaminated biomarkers. The method notably gives access to proteins, metabolites, RNA, DNA and exosomes, thus enabling holistic biomarker discovery. Owing to its non-destructive nature, EXPEL provides for the first time both clinicians and researchers with the opportunity to analyze identical material.

The investigators hypothesize that the conservation liquid used to collect cells and biopsy after endoscopic ultrasound for pancreatic biopsy could contain the tissue secretome and permit a comprehensive OMICS analysis of PDAC (all stages confounded) by using a "modified EXPEL" procedure. These are ideal conditions for EXPEL approach that will additionally to finding novel biomarkers also shed light on complex network of cancer cell-stroma interactions.