Pancreatic Cancer Research News

13/03/2024

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08/03/2024

“UC San Francisco researchers have designed a candidate drug that could help make pancreatic cancer, which is almost always fatal, a treatable, perhaps even curable, condition.

The new drug candidate permanently modifies a wily cancer-causing mutation, called K-Ras G12D, that is responsible for nearly half of all pancreatic cancer cases and appears in some forms of lung, breast and colon cancer.

[ . . . . ]

[Kevan Shokat, PhD, a professor in the Department of Cellular and Molecular Pharmacology] and his colleagues developed the first cancer drugs to stop a different K-Ras mutation, G12C, in 2013. Since then, two therapies have been approved for use in lung and breast cancer, but the advance didn’t move the needle for treating pancreatic cancer.

[ . . . . ]

Shokat’s team envisioned a molecule that fit into a pocket of the K-Ras protein, then firmly – and irreversibly – bound to the rogue aspartate. The explosion of research that followed Shokat’s 2013 discovery enabled them to develop a template for chemicals that reliably found their way into that corner of the protein.

[ . . . . ]

The molecule put the brakes on tumor growth from G12D in cancer cell lines, as well as an animal model of human cancer. And it never attacked healthy proteins.

The scientists are now optimizing the molecule to be durable enough to fight cancer in the human body. With the traction gained from this study, Shokat said, new therapies for pancreatic cancer could enter clinical trials in as little as two to three years.

‘We’ve learned a lot from other targeted therapies and know how to quickly translate discoveries like these for the clinic,’ said Margaret Tempero, MD, director of the UCSF Pancreas Center. ‘An effective drug targeting K-RAS G12D could be transformative for patients with pancreatic cancer.’”

A new drug candidate permanently modifies a wily cancer-causing mutation, paving the way for making pancreatic cancer treatable, or perhaps even curable.

06/02/2024

“How cancer spreads or metastasizes is a big question for cancer researchers and patients. Mayo Clinic researchers studying pancreatic cancer — the third deadliest form of cancer in the U.S. — recently made a discovery that advances knowledge of how metastasis unfolds. They identified a cell-signaling protein that drives pancreatic cancer cell growth that could be a potential therapeutic target.

"’Our ultimate goal is to find the triggers for metastasis and stop it. Combine that with treatments to reduce tumor growth, and we can hopefully improve patient outcomes,’ says Gina Razidlo, Ph.D., the senior author of a paper published in Cell Reports.”

Mayo Clinic researchers identified a cell-signaling protein that drives pancreatic cancer cell growth that could be a potential therapeutic target.

24/01/2024

“As the first vaccines for Covid-19 rolled out at the end of 2020, messenger RNA catapulted into public awareness. Now, a few years later, interest in mRNA has exploded. Clinical trials are underway for dozens of mRNA vaccines, including ones for flu and herpes. And scientists are hoping to use mRNA to treat disease, not just prevent it. One of the biggest targets is cancer.

But a major obstacle is how to deliver the molecule to the place in the body that needs to be treated. Fatty bubbles called lipid nanoparticles can carry RNA into cells, and they can ferry it to a wide range of tissues but not to anywhere specific. That’s a problem for cancer, says Jake Becraft, cofounder and CEO of Boston-based Strand Therapeutics, because many cancer treatments ‘can be incredibly toxic in off-target tissues.’ But his company may have found a solution.

Strand has figured out how to ‘program’ mRNA much like computer code, allowing it to perform certain functions—such as turning on only in specific cell types, at specific times, and in specific amounts. Today, the biotech company announced that the US Food and Drug Administration has greenlit a clinical trial testing the approach in cancer patients with solid tumors. Strand plans to begin enrolling patients this spring. It will be the first time a programmable mRNA therapy will be tested in people.

[ . . . . ]

Strand is initially targeting easy-to-reach tumors, including melanoma and breast cancer, to prove that the approach works and is safe. In this trial, doctors will inject the mRNA directly into the tumors and then check to see how localized the effect is. In the future, Strand envisions being able to do body-wide infusions of its programmed mRNA to treat tumors in more remote locations. The idea is that the therapy would selectively activate in certain cells and tissues.”

Strand Therapeutics has figured out a way to turn the molecule on and off in certain tissues to more precisely treat tumors.

22/01/2024

Five-year survival rate for pancreatic cancer on a steady increase. 💫 From the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network:

“The 5-year survival rate for has increased to 13%, according to the American Cancer Society’s Cancer Facts & Figures 2024 Report, released today. 💜 [1/17/24]

This statistic has increased three years in a row — a promising trend that points to continued progress for pancreatic cancer patients. There is more hope than ever before, but there is still more work to be done.

We remain committed to our long-standing research priorities: To find an early detection strategy and accelerate treatments for patients with pancreatic cancer. Together, we can make it happen. 💪

Learn more about what this means for patients at: http://pcan.at/a25jq7.”

12/01/2024

“[Gulam] Manji’s lab studies immunosuppressive pathways important in pancreatic cancer. Since their introduction, immunotherapies that stimulate the immune system to attack cancer have had great success against some cancers, but not pancreatic.

[ . . . . ]

Manji launched a clinical trial to test the triple therapy, enrolling 11 patients with newly diagnosed pancreatic cancer. (The results were presented at the American Association for Cancer Research Special Conference in Cancer Research: Pancreatic Cancer on Sept. 28, 2023.)

[ . . . . ]

The study found that tumors in seven of the patients shrank by at least 30%, and three patients had stable disease (meaning their tumors neither shrank nor progressed).

The results were so promising that Manji launched a randomized trial of 108 patients with the University of California San Francisco, Medical College of Wisconsin, Brown University, and Northwell Hospital joining Columbia as participating sites.

Expanding the trial to more patients is an opportunity to see if the results can be replicated in a larger sample size and will determine if the treatment has real promise, Manji says.”

A clinical trial based on discoveries made by researchers in Columbia’s Pancreas Center is showing promising results and is now expanding to include more patients.

21/09/2022

The Cancer Moonshot was launched in 2016 by then-Vice President Biden. In February 2022, President Biden announced a reignition of the Cancer Moonshot, highlighting new goals that have led to new research initiatives.