How a Teen Inventor Claims a 168‑Fold Faster, $0.03 Pancreatic Cancer Test

Jack Thomas Andraka, born in 1997 in Maryland, came out as gay at 13 and faced severe bullying, yet pursued scientific curiosity.

Inspired by his uncle's death from pancreatic cancer, he began researching early detection methods using online resources such as Google and Wikipedia.

He discovered that measuring the biomarker mesothelin in blood or urine could indicate pancreatic cancer, and proposed a carbon‑nanotube analysis technique.

After contacting over 200 professors at Johns Hopkins University and the National Institutes of Health, only one, Professor Anirban Maitra, responded positively and invited him to discuss his proposal.

With support from the university, Andraka developed a strip‑type diagnostic test that detects mesothelin, claiming over 90% accuracy, results in five minutes, and a cost of about three US cents per test.

He asserts the test is 168 times faster, 26,000 times cheaper, and 400 times more accurate than current pancreatic cancer diagnostics, and can also detect ovarian cancer, lung cancer, and HIV due to the presence of mesothelin.

The invention earned him the 2012 Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) Gordon Moore Award, with a prize of $75,000.

Andraka now describes himself as an amateur cancer researcher, educator, medical entrepreneur, inventor, and LGBT activist, continuing to pursue further innovations.