A test to detect the early signs of pancreatic cancer is good news for those at risk for the disease.

Known as one of the deadliest cancers, pancreatic cancer has, up to this point, been difficult to diagnose in it’s earliest stages when possible life saving treatment would be most effective.

In recent years, researchers have been investigating minimally invasive ways to find cancer by looking for so-called “field effects,” which are changes that occur in nearby tissues as a result of cancer growth. For instance, tumors require an increased blood supply. This means tissue in the vicinity of a cancer might have enlarged blood vessels, and a depletion of oxygen in the blood. Wallace likened the test to a metal detector that beeps faster the closer you get to the cancer.