Professor Jesús Bañales and Dr Pedro Rodrigues have been working on developing a safe and effective noninvasive test to detect one of the most feared complications of PSC: bile duct cancer. PSC Support and PSC Partners have helped to fund this groundbreaking and vital research.

They have collaborated with scientists and clinicians from around the world. Very simply, they evaluated blood samples and used machine learning to develop the test.

Dr Rodrigues presented their data to a packed auditorium on 09 May 2025. He announced that their “3-in-1” non-invasive test can:

• diagnose PSC
• detect early bile duct cancer in people with PSC and
• predict future CCA development.

As with all new tests and therapies, the test needs to be fully validated and shown to add value to - or be better than - current available methods and be cost effective before it can be used in everyday practice. We may even see it used in research to help characterise participants first.

Other considerations include how often people with PSC would be tested, what happens when cancer is found, and education of healthcare professionals and patients about cancer risk and interpretation of results.

*IMPORTANT* We are currently gathering patient views on tests and information about bile duct cancer. We would be grateful if you could add yours so that our advocacy on your behalf can be as powerful as possible: