Overview

• More than 300 GP surgeries in England have begun searching records this month under a new three-year pilot to catch pancreatic cancer earlier.
• The program targets patients over 60 who exhibit two red flags—a recent diabetes diagnosis coupled with unexplained weight loss—for urgent blood tests and CT scans.
• Medical evidence shows around half of pancreatic cancer cases are preceded by new-onset diabetes because both conditions damage the pancreas’s insulin-producing cells.
• Backed by almost £2 million in dedicated funding, the scheme aims to shift diagnoses to earlier, more treatable stages and improve outcomes.
• Pancreatic cancer remains the deadliest common cancer in the UK, with about 10,500 new cases each year and only around 5% of patients surviving a decade or more.