Structured Case-Finding for Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma in Swiss Primary Care: A Feasibility Study (PANCATCH-Pilot)

July 21, 2026 updated by: Saskia Hendrich

PANCATCH-Pilot: Structured Early Detection of Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma in Swiss Primary Care - A Prospective Feasibility Study of a Case-Finding Pathway in the Canton of Zurich

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is diagnosed at an advanced, incurable stage in more than 80% of cases in Switzerland. Certain warning signs - new-onset diabetes, unexplained weight loss, or a family history of pancreatic cancer - may indicate elevated risk, but are not systematically assessed in primary care.

PANCATCH-Pilot tests whether a structured case-finding pathway in Swiss general practices is feasible. Adults aged 60 years or older with one or more of these risk factors are invited to undergo an MRI/MRCP examination of the pancreas and a blood draw for a blinded biomarker test (PancreaSure, Immunovia Inc.). Findings are reviewed by a multidisciplinary tumour board. The goal is not treatment, but to assess whether such a pathway works in the Swiss primary care context - as preparation for a larger national study.

The study enrolls 50 trigger-positive participants over 24 months through two parallel recruitment pathways: GP referral and self-presentation via a study website. Feasibility is assessed using six combined endpoints covering recruitment, process quality, safety, and equity.

Study Overview

Status

Not yet recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Study Type

Observational

Enrollment (Estimated)

50

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Locations

  • Switzerland
    • Canton of Zurich
      • Zurich, Canton of Zurich, Switzerland, 8038
        • Onkozentrum Zürich AG
        • Contact:

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Sampling Method

Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

Adults aged 60 years or older with defined metabolic or familial/genetic risk factors for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma, recruited through GP practices in Canton Zurich and adjacent cantons, or via self-presentation through the study website (spot-cancer.ch).

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Age 60 years or older
  • Attendance at a participating GP practice in Canton Zurich or adjacent canton (maximum 1 hour travel time), or self-presentation via study microsite
  • At least one trigger criterion fulfilled: metabolic trigger (new-onset type 2 diabetes mellitus diagnosed within 24 months AND unintentional weight loss >5% body weight within 3 months) OR familial/genetic trigger (≥2 first-degree relatives with PDAC, or ≥1 first-degree relative with PDAC, or BRCA1/2 germline mutation, or CDKN2A mutation); combined with age ≥60 years
  • Written informed consent
  • Sufficient German or English language skills for study communication

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Prior or current diagnosis of pancreatic carcinoma or pre-malignant pancreatic lesion
  • Contraindication to MRI (metallic implants, severe claustrophobia without available alternative)
  • Active untreated psychiatric condition impairing capacity to consent
  • Pregnancy
  • Incapacity to provide informed consent

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort
Intervention / Treatment
Trigger-positive participants
Adults aged 60 years or older with at least one metabolic trigger (new-onset type 2 diabetes ≤24 months combined with unintentional weight loss >5% in 3 months) or familial/genetic trigger (family history of PDAC or BRCA1/2/CDKN2A germline mutation), recruited through GP referral or self-presentation via study website.
Diagnostic test: Structured case-finding pathway (MRI/MRCP + PancreaSure biomarker assay)
Single-visit structured pathway comprising: (1) standardised clinical risk assessment; (2) MRI/MRCP with macrocyclic gadolinium contrast agent (Dotarem) per PRECEDE consensus protocol; (3) blood draw for blinded PancreaSure serum biomarker assay (Immunovia Inc.) and study biobank; (4) multidisciplinary tumour board review. No therapeutic intervention.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Composite Feasibility Score
Time Frame: 24 months
Feasibility assessed by dual-criterion approach (Roychoudhury et al. 2018) across 6 combined endpoints: (1) GP recruitment rate ≥60%; (2) trigger documentation rate ≥70%; (3) T0-T4 time window median ≤21 days; (4) data completeness ≥85%; (5) harm indicator (invasive follow-up procedures) ≤25%; (6) equity index (Spread Quotient ≤4 and Representation Index 0.7-1.3). Study success criterion: ≥5 of 6 endpoints meet both target value and acceptance threshold.
24 months

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
PancreaSure Biomarker Performance
Time Frame: Through study completion, an average of 3 years
Blinded exploratory characterisation of PancreaSure serum biomarker assay performance in a Swiss primary care population. Hypothesis-generating only; no inferential statistics planned.
Through study completion, an average of 3 years
Multidisciplinary Tumour Board Process Characterisation
Time Frame: 24 months
Descriptive characterisation of the MDT tumour board process including case volume, time from MRI to board discussion, and board composition.
24 months
GP Experience with Study Pathway
Time Frame: 24 months
Semi-structured questionnaire assessing GP experience with the case-finding pathway, including perceived burden, clarity of trigger criteria, and willingness to participate in a national main trial.
24 months
Participant Experience with Study Pathway
Time Frame: 12 months
Structured assessment of participant-reported experience with the study pathway including perceived burden, satisfaction with communication, and willingness to recommend participation.
12 months

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Saskia Hendrich

Collaborators

Krebsliga Schweiz
OnkoZentrum Zürich AG

Investigators

  • Study Director: Jan Schmidt, Professor, Swiss Surgery, Klinik Im Park, Hirslanden, Zurich
  • Study Director: Alexander Siebenhüner, PD, Hirslanden Cancer Institute, Klinik Im Park, Zurich Role: Study Director

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Helpful Links

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Estimated)

October 1, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

March 31, 2030

Study Completion (Estimated)

September 30, 2030

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

July 14, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

July 21, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

July 23, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

July 23, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

July 21, 2026

Last Verified

July 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • PANCATCH-Pilot-2026

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

IPD Plan Description

Individual participant data will not be shared due to Swiss data protection regulations (revDSG) and the pseudonymisation framework of the study. Aggregated results will be published open access.

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

Clinical Trials on Early Detection of Cancer

Search Similar Trials

Sponsors and Collaborators

Medical Conditions

Drug Interventions

CROs by country

CROs in Senegal

Conditions

Rare Diseases

Drug Interventions

Dietary Supplements

Sponsor/Collaborators

Locations

Subscribe