Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41892318›Full record

ArticleCells2026

Distinct Mutation Signatures in Peripheral Blood Mitochondrial DNA from Liquid Biopsy Reveal Insights into Pancreatic Cancer.

Hannah Randeu, Abel Bronkhorst, Angela Oberhofer, Karolina Worf, Carsten Uhlig, Eleni Polatoglou, Zsuzsanna Mayer, Klara Dorman, Danmei Zhang, Stefan Boeck and 3 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Cells, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

13 authors.

Hannah RandeuDepartment of Internal Medicine III and Comprehensive Cancer Center, Klinikum Grosshadern, Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich, 81377 Munich, Germany.
Abel BronkhorstMunich Biomarker Research Center, Institute of Laboratory Medicine, German Heart Center, Technical University Munich, 80636 Munich, Germany.
Angela OberhoferMunich Biomarker Research Center, Institute of Laboratory Medicine, German Heart Center, Technical University Munich, 80636 Munich, Germany.
Karolina WorfMunich Biomarker Research Center, Institute of Laboratory Medicine, German Heart Center, Technical University Munich, 80636 Munich, Germany.ORCID 0000-0002-3190-3873
Carsten UhligMunich Biomarker Research Center, Institute of Laboratory Medicine, German Heart Center, Technical University Munich, 80636 Munich, Germany.
Eleni PolatoglouMunich Biomarker Research Center, Institute of Laboratory Medicine, German Heart Center, Technical University Munich, 80636 Munich, Germany.
Zsuzsanna MayerMunich Biomarker Research Center, Institute of Laboratory Medicine, German Heart Center, Technical University Munich, 80636 Munich, Germany.
Klara DormanDepartment of Internal Medicine III and Comprehensive Cancer Center, Klinikum Grosshadern, Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich, 81377 Munich, Germany.
Danmei ZhangDepartment of Internal Medicine III and Comprehensive Cancer Center, Klinikum Grosshadern, Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich, 81377 Munich, Germany.
Stefan BoeckDepartment of Internal Medicine III and Comprehensive Cancer Center, Klinikum Grosshadern, Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich, 81377 Munich, Germany.ORCID 0000-0002-1922-2127
Volker HeinemannDepartment of Internal Medicine III and Comprehensive Cancer Center, Klinikum Grosshadern, Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich, 81377 Munich, Germany.
Michael HaasDepartment of Internal Medicine III and Comprehensive Cancer Center, Klinikum Grosshadern, Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich, 81377 Munich, Germany.
Stefan HoldenriederMunich Biomarker Research Center, Institute of Laboratory Medicine, German Heart Center, Technical University Munich, 80636 Munich, Germany.ORCID 0000-0001-9210-7064

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Pancreatic cancer (PC) is a highly aggressive malignancy characterized by limited opportunities for early diagnosis and poor clinical outcomes, underscoring the need for minimally invasive biomarkers to improve detection and patient stratification. Given emerging evidence that mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) alterations reflect cancer-related biological processes, this study investigated whether blood-derived mtDNA profiles could provide clinically relevant information in PC. In this exploratory study, whole-blood mtDNA from 33 PC patients and 10 healthy individuals were analyzed using next-generation sequencing to assess single-nucleotide variants (SNVs), allele frequencies, and mtDNA copy number. A total of 252 unique mtDNA SNVs were identified, including variants exclusive to PC patients, variants unique to controls, and variants shared between groups. While the overall SNV burden did not differ significantly between groups, PC patients showed distinct mutation distributions and allele frequency patterns, with cancer-exclusive variants occurring predominantly at low allele frequencies. Mutation hotspots were observed in the ND5, COI, and D-loop regions, implicating genes involved in oxidative phosphorylation and mtDNA maintenance. Although mtDNA copy number did not differ significantly between groups, greater variability was observed among PC patients and was associated with differences in survival outcomes. Overall, these findings indicate that blood-based mtDNA profiling captures biologically relevant variation associated with PC and supports further development of integrated mtDNA-based approaches for improved risk assessment and patient stratification.

Indexed as

DNA, MitochondrialMutationPancreatic NeoplasmsAgedDNA Copy Number VariationsFemaleGene FrequencyHumansLiquid BiopsyMaleMiddle AgedPolymorphism, Single NucleotideDNA, Mitochondrialliquid biopsymtDNANGSpancreatic cancerpersonalized medicine

Identifiers

PMID41892318
PMCPMC13025575

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.