Fig. 3Single metabolite markers discriminating PDAC and CP. After identification of significant features in the discovery cohort (n = 67), feature quality control and confirmation of significance in the validation cohort (n = 51), three single metabolite markers for PDAC compared to CP remained. All three were up-regulated in PDAC. Statistical test: Welch’s unequal variances t test. Box plot settings: Range, minimum to maximum value; line at median