A recent study from Assam’s Tezpur University has presented new evidence on blood-based chemical markers that could help identify gallbladder cancer earlier. Gallbladder cancer is a particularly deadly disease. It often goes unnoticed until advanced stages, especially in North East India, where it is the third most common cancer.
Tezpur University found earlier detection method of gallbladder cancer
The research team, led by Assistant Professor Pankaj Barah and research scholar Cinmoyee Baruah, published its findings in the Journal of Proteome Research of the American Chemical Society. Their work aimed to find specific ‘metabolic signatures’ in blood that can tell apart gallbladder cancer cases with and without gallstones.
“Our findings show that changes in creatinine chemical blood metabolites can clearly distinguish gallbladder cancer cases with and without gallstones. This raises the possibility of developing simple blood tests for earlier detection,” Barah said.
Pilot study design and key metabolic findings
The pilot study, the first of its kind in North East India, analyzed blood samples from three groups: patients with gallbladder cancer but no gallstones, those with both gallstones and cancer, and individuals with only gallstones. Using metabolomics, the researchers identified hundreds of altered metabolites: 180 in gallstone-free cancer cases and 225 in gallstone-associated cases.
They found distinct biomarker panels for each disease variant, with many linked to bile acids and amino acid derivatives associated with tumor progression. The interdisciplinary research included input from surgeons, pathologists, pharmaceutical scientists, molecular biologists, and computational scientists. Clinical partners involved were Assam Medical College and Hospital, Dr B Borooah Cancer Institute, and Swagat Super-Speciality Hospital.