Swedish researchers have developed a new method for diagnosing pancreatic cancer at a much earlier stage than currently possible, the University of Gothenburg said Tuesday.

The test detects the first signs of the deadly disease with 97 percent accuracy, which researchers hope will help improve the low survival rate among those diagnosed.

Only 5 percent of patients with pancreatic cancer survive more than five years after their diagnosis as tumors often develop unnoticed and spread to other organs before being detected.

"We are very hopeful that the method will enable more instances of early discovery of pancreatic cancer at a stage when the cancer can be treated or prevented," Karolina Jabbar, part of the research team at the Sahlgrenska Academy, said in a statement.

"Thanks to this analysis, we can see at what stage the cancer is," she told AFP.