Peter Hosein, MD, associate director for clinical research with the Pancreatic Cancer Research Institute at Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center

Summary: 

  • Sylvester researchers received a $225,000 PanCAN grant to study whether a blood test (circulating tumor DNA, or ctDNA) can identify the genetic makeup of metastatic pancreatic cancer and guide treatment decisions faster than traditional biopsies. 
  • The study will analyze nearly 500 patient blood samples to determine whether ctDNA can accurately match tissue-testing results, potentially providing critical genetic information in days instead of weeks. 
  • If validated, ctDNA could reduce the need for invasive biopsies, help monitor treatment response and resistance, and pave the way for more personalized care for pancreatic cancer patients 

MIAMI (Sept. 16, 2026) — A new study led by researchers at Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, part of the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, will explore whether circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) can reliably provide information about the molecular makeup of metastatic pancreatic cancer, one of the deadliest malignancies.  

The goal, researchers say, is to develop a blood test that could identify a cancer’s molecular vulnerabilities and help guide treatment decisions, potentially saving patients from time-consuming, invasive biopsies. This work comes at a pivotal moment in pancreatic cancer advancement, following the historic FDA approval of daraxonrasib for patients with metastatic disease. 

A $225,000, two-year award from the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network, known as PanCAN, will support researchers at Sylvester as they work to improve current standards of care for those with this disease. Using patient samples collected through PanCAN’s Precision Promise adaptive clinical trial, the team will compare ctDNA results with those from standard tissue testing, and explore ctDNA’s potential to track treatment response and study the biology of the disease.  

“Time is of the essence when you get a diagnosis of pancreatic cancer,” said principal investigator Peter Hosein, M.D., associate director for clinical research with the Sylvester Pancreatic Cancer Research Institute and professor in the Division of Medical Oncology at the Miller School. “With ctDNA testing, we will be able to get genetic information faster to help us channel patients into the most appropriate treatment more quickly.”  

The team will analyze ctDNA from approximately 490 plasma samples. The analysis will focus on pancreatic cancer–specific biomarkers and the rate at which ctDNA detects these targets, with results benchmarked against tissue testing from the same patients. 

“In one sense, this is only the first step,” said co-principal investigator Jashodeep Datta, M.D., associate director of translational research with the Sylvester Pancreatic Cancer Research Institute and associate professor in the Division of Surgical Oncology. “But it could be a giant leap for the pancreatic cancer field by opening up vistas that we have not been able to explore with current technologies.” 

(Jashodeep Datta, MD, associate director for translational research with the Pancreatic Cancer Research Institute at Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center)

Validating ctDNA is significant for patients because a blood draw is less invasive than a biopsy and considerably faster. Tissue testing can take up to a month, while ctDNA results can be available in as little as seven days, according to Dr. Hosein.

Ultimately, the team hopes that ctDNA will be established as an alternative to tissue testing, which remains the gold standard. In the near term, however, researchers see it as a critical backup when biopsy analysis does not yield usable results. A validated ctDNA test could “rescue” these failed biopsies, Dr. Hosein said, making repeat procedures unnecessary. 

ctDNA may also prove useful in additional ways. By examining blood samples collected before treatment and again two months after therapy begins, the team will investigate whether changes in the proportion of tumor-derived DNA can signal treatment response and potentially the emergence of resistance. 

“In the future, with ctDNA or ‘liquid biopsies,’ perhaps we could design nimble platforms for switching patients’ therapies without invasive tumor biopsies to understand how the tumor is changing,” Dr. Datta said. 

The grant also supports more exploratory research, including investigations into whether tumor subtypes can be defined through blood-based methylation profiling. Such molecular classifications guide prognosis and treatment across most solid cancers but do not yet exist for pancreatic cancer. 

In addition, the team is using about 50 blood samples to test an experimental artificial intelligence platform developed by Michele Ceccarelli, Ph.D., research professor in the Department of Public Health Sciences, to identify molecular signatures of cancer, including pancreatic tumors. This proof-of-concept study represents an early step toward determining whether the platform, called Fate-AI, could help understand and track treatment response in pancreatic cancer.  

Read more about Sylvester’s efforts to advance cancer research on the InventUM blog and follow @SylvesterCancer on X and LinkedIn for the latest news on its research and care.