Overview
- The peer-reviewed study published June 30, 2026, followed 106 patients with localized pancreatic cancer and compared a targeted digital droplet PCR (ddPCR) test with conventional next-generation sequencing (NGS).
- At diagnosis ddPCR found KRAS circulating tumor DNA in 65% of patients versus 17% for NGS, and ddPCR continued to detect tumor DNA after chemotherapy (60% vs 5%) and after surgery (56% vs 9%).
- A group whose cancer was missed by NGS but detected by ddPCR had a median survival of 27 months compared with 41 months for patients negative on both tests, indicating added prognostic value.
- ddPCR improves sensitivity by hunting for specific KRAS mutations that drive more than 90% of pancreatic cancers while NGS scans many genes and can miss very low-level signals.
- Authors and reporters say the finding could reshape monitoring and patient selection as KRAS inhibitors approach regulatory review, but they stress larger multi-center validation is required before routine clinical use.