• Understanding Pancreatic Cancer Early

What is pancreatic cancer? The value of catching it early. 

Cancers like pancreatic cancer often hide, with symptoms not appearing until later stages. The earlier that cancer is diagnosed, the greater the chance of successful treatment.4

Galleri is a screening test that looks for cancer, often before symptoms appear,3 when cancer may be more treatable.4 The test screens for more than 50 cancer types with a single blood draw, including those without a single-cancer recommended screening test.4,5 It is important to get cancer screenings even if you feel fine.

The Galleri test does not detect a signal for all cancers, and false positive or false negative results can occur.

Male Stock Final

The Galleri test does not detect a signal for all cancers, and false positive or false negative results can occur.

Pancreatic cancer risk factors and symptoms 

Age is the single greatest risk factor for cancer.6 In fact, adults over the age of 50 are 13 times more likely to have cancer compared to people under age 50.7 Understanding the risk factors enables individuals to make informed health decisions and discuss screening options with healthcare providers.

Risk factors of pancreatic cancer8

  • Smoking — current or former smokers (smokers face twice the risk compared to never-smokers)
  • Metabolic conditions — type 2 diabetes and excess body weight
  • Family history — familial predisposition for pancreatic cancer
  • Personal history — chronic pancreatitis, often related to heavy alcohol consumption
  • Inherited genetic mutations or syndromes — BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations and Lynch syndrome
blue line graph representing cancer incidence increases with age indicating a 13X higher risk after age 50

Symptoms of pancreatic cancer9

The tumor’s location affects the symptoms a patient experiences. Much of the difficulty in diagnosing pancreatic cancer comes from the lack of telltale signs for the disease, particularly in the early stages.

As the cancer develops, symptoms may include: 

  • Back and upper- or middle-abdominal pain
  • Jaundice (yellowing of the skin and whites of the eyes)
  • Dark urine and/or light-colored stools
  • Weight loss for no known reason
  • Loss of appetite
  • Fatigue

These symptoms are also symptoms of many other, less lethal conditions. 

Start screening before pancreatic cancer symptoms appear 
 

Pancreatic cancer is one of one of 12 deadly cancers* responsible for two-thirds of US cancer deaths.4 These cancers tend to release more DNA fragments into the bloodstream at early stages.4 And yet most do not have a recommended screening test. Adding the Galleri test to recommended cancer screening tests (i.e., lung, colorectal, breast, prostate, and cervical) to screen for additional cancers can increase your chance of finding cancer early and allow for earlier treatment.3,5,10

*Anus, bladder, colon/rectum, esophagus, head and neck, liver/bile duct, lung, lymphoma, ovary, pancreas, plasma cell neoplasm, and stomach.

The overall sensitivity in study participants with pancreatic cancer was 83.7% (61.9% for stage I, 60.0% stage II, 85.7% stage III, 95.9% stage IV).

Pancreas Iceberg Graphic 1220x1220

  1. Etzioni R, Urban N, Ramsey S, et al. The case for early detection. Nat Rev Cancer. 2003;3(4):243-52. doi: 10.1038/nrc1041
  2. American Cancer Society. The cancer atlas. Early detection. https://canceratlas.cancer.org/taking-action/early-detection/
  3. Schrag D, Beer TM, McDonnell CH, et al. Blood-based tests for multicancer early detection (PATHFINDER): a prospective cohort study. Lancet. 2023;402(10409):1251-60. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(23)01700-2
  4. Klein EA, Richards D, Cohn A, et al. Clinical validation of a targeted methylation-based multi-cancer early detection test using an independent validation set. Ann Oncol. 2021;32(9):1167-77. doi: 10.1016/j.annonc.2021.05.806
  5. US Preventive Services Task Force. A, B, and C grade recommendations, cancer, screening [cited 2025 Mar 18]. https://www.uspreventiveservicestaskforce.org/uspstf/topic_search_results
  6. Patel AV, Deubler E, Teras LR, et al. Key risk factors for the relative and absolute 5-year risk of cancer to enhance cancer screening and prevention. Cancer. 2022;128(19):3502-15. doi: 10.1002/cncr.34396
  7. SEER*Explorer. Incidence Data, 22 Registries, Nov 2023 Sub (1975-2021). Cancer incidence ages >50. Surveillance Research Program, National Cancer Institute; 2024 Apr 17. https://seer.cancer.gov/statistics-network/explorer/ [GRAIL, Inc. Data on file: GR-2021-0067]
  8. American Cancer Society. Cancer facts & figures 2025. https://www.cancer.org/research/cancer-facts-statistics/all-cancer-facts-figures/2025-cancer-facts-figures.html
  9. NIH, National Cancer Institute. Pancreatic cancer treatment (PDQ®): patient version [updated: 2025 May 16]. https://www.cancer.gov/types/pancreatic/patient/pancreatic-treatment-pdq
  10. Hackshaw A, Cohen SS, Reichert H, et al. Estimating the population health impact of a multi-cancer early detection genomic blood test to complement existing screening in the US and UK. Br J Cancer. 2021;125(10):1432-42. doi: 10.1038/s41416-021-01498-4