EARLY AND NON INVASIVE METHOD FOR ASSESSING A SUBJECT'S RISK OF HAVING PANCREATIC DUCTAL ADENOCARCINOMA AND METHODS OF TREATEMENT OF SUCH DISEASE

摘要

The present invention comprises the step of measuring the level of βig-h3 protein in a blood sample, wherein the ratio of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) in a subject, wherein the serum level of βig-h3 has a positive correlation to the risk of suffering from PDAC. It relates to an invasive diagnostic method. Through a study on two separate cohorts of 20 and 104 PDAC patients and on a PDAC mouse model, we found that βig-h3 can be directly detected in blood samples and βig-h3 is a pancreatic tumor lesion. Has been shown to be expressed very early in tumorigenesis in The invention also relates to antagonists of βig-h3 protein for use in the treatment of PDAC. The inventors have found that βig-h3 ^{binds directly to CD8 +} T cells by reducing their activation and cytotoxic properties. Moreover, the use of neutralizing βig-h3 antibodies in the PDAC mouse model ^{reduced tumor growth by enhancing the CD8 +} T cell anti-tumor response. Thus, neutralizing βig-h3 acts as a novel immunological check-point target and thus allows to restore beneficial anti-tumor immunity in PDAC.