Pancreatic Cancer News and Research

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Pancreatic cancer is the fourth leading cause of all cancer deaths in the United States and the third leading cause of cancer deaths in individuals ages 40 to 60. Approximately 37,000 Americans are diagnosed with pancreatic cancer each year, and, each year, approximately the same number die from it. Often, pancreatic cancer is found too late for surgical intervention, and chemotherapy and radiation treatments have little effect.

Pancreatic cancer rates higher in countries with less sunlight

Writing in the April 30 online issue of the Journal of Steroid Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine report pancreatic cancer rates are highest in countries with the least amount of sunlight. Low sunlight levels were due to a combination of heavy cloud cover and high latitude.

30 Apr 2015

Oncolytics' REOLYSIN granted EMA Orphan Drug Designation for pancreatic cancer treatment

Oncolytics Biotech Inc., a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on the development of oncolytic viruses as potential cancer therapeutics, today announced that the European Medicines Agency has granted Orphan Drug Designation for its lead product candidate, REOLYSIN, for the treatment of pancreatic cancer.

29 Apr 2015

Merrimack completes submission of MM-398 NDA for treatment of post-gemcitabine metastatic pancreatic cancer

Merrimack Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Baxter International Inc. today jointly announced that Merrimack has completed the rolling submission of the New Drug Application (NDA) for MM-398 (irinotecan liposome injection), also known as "nal-IRI," to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

From Baxter International Inc. 27 Apr 2015

Oncologists publish review of advanced clinical treatments for pancreatic cancer

The oncologists Manuel Hidalgo, Director of the Clinical Research Programme of the Spanish National Cancer Research Centre, and Ignacio Garrido-Laguna, member of the Experimental Therapeutics Program at Huntsman Cancer Institute of the University of Utah (USA), have recently published a review of state-of-the-art clinical treatments for pancreatic cancer -- including the most current therapies and innovative research -- in the prestigious scientific journal Nature Reviews Clinical Oncology.

24 Apr 2015

Researchers uncover methylated DNA markers that may lead to noninvasive cancer screening

A team of Mayo Clinic researchers has succeeded in identifying the source of cancer in patients' gastrointestinal tracts by analyzing DNA markers from tumors. The results open the possibility that doctors could one day be able to screen for cancer anywhere in the body with a noninvasive blood test or stool sample.

22 Apr 2015

AACR throws spotlight on the experience of Individualized Molecular Pancreatic Cancer Therapy trial

After performing thousands of unsuccessful experiments in his attempt to perfect the light bulb, Thomas Edison famously remarked: "I have not failed, not once. I've discovered ten thousand ways that don't work."

21 Apr 2015

Ibrutinib (IMBRUVICA) may be effective for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma

Ibrutinib (IMBRUVICA) data presented yesterday by Pharmacyclics, Inc. at the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting suggest that ibrutinib may be an effective therapeutic option for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), as shown in both a transgenic mouse model and an in-vivo model of patient-derived xenograft (PDX) mice (grafts of tissue taken from a pancreatic cancer patient and grafted into a mouse).

20 Apr 2015

New drug combination shows promise in patients with metastatic melanoma

Once again, researchers at Penn's Abramson Cancer Center have extended the reach of the immune system in the fight against metastatic melanoma, this time by combining the checkpoint inhibitor tremelimumab with an anti-CD40 monoclonal antibody drug.

20 Apr 2015

New, cross-sector collaboration aims to discover clinical biomarker for pancreatic cancer

The search to discover and validate the first-ever clinical biomarker to diagnose and treat pancreatic cancer is at the foundation of a new, cross-sector collaboration. Berg, a biopharmaceutical company committed to uncovering health solutions through a data-driven, biological research approach; the Cancer Center at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, a Harvard Medical School teaching hospital, and the Pancreatic Cancer Research Team managed by Cancer Research And Biostatistics announced today they will work together to eradicate the disease.

9 Apr 2015

Study suggests that pancreatic cancers harbor genetic alterations

A genetic analysis led by UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers suggests that most pancreatic cancers harbor genetic alterations that could be targeted by existing drugs, using their genetic features as a roadmap for treatment. The findings support a precision approach to treating pancreatic cancer, the fourth most deadly cancer for both men and women.

9 Apr 2015

Common cancers deform mitochondria to create conducive environment for tumor growth

In a breakthrough in the understanding of how cancer does its deadly work, researchers at the University of Virginia School of Medicine have shown that many cancers - including nearly all pancreatic cancers - enslave and deform mitochondria, the powerhouses of cells, to create an environment more conducive to tumor growth.

7 Apr 2015

Myriad Genetics expands companion diagnostic collaboration with AstraZeneca

Myriad Genetics, Inc. today announced the expansion of its companion diagnostic collaboration with AstraZeneca. Under the terms of the expanded agreement, Myriad’s BRACAnalysis CDx test will be used to prospectively identify which patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer may respond to treatment with Lynparza (olaparib).

2 Apr 2015

Drug-resistant E. coli outbreak linked to contaminated endoscopes in Washington state hospital

An outbreak of a novel Escherichia coli (E. coli) strain resistant to antibiotics has been linked to contaminated endoscopes in a Washington state hospital. The study indicates that industry standard cleaning guidelines, which were exceeded by hospital staff, may not be sufficient for sterilizing endoscopes adequately.

31 Mar 2015

Study shows how PDT for pancreatic cancer can be included in physician practice without significant cost

Late stage pancreatic cancer benefits from photodynamic therapy (PDT) but the resources needed for the usual accompanying dosimetry present barriers, Dartmouth researchers Jonathan T. Elliott, PhD and Brian C. Pogue, PhD have mitigated by using common clinical technologies.

23 Mar 2015

New work flow system may improve patient appointments, reduce time-consuming work

Both patients and physicians may benefit from a "work flow" system developed at military medical facilities and tested at a Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center clinic, according to results of an efficiency study.

20 Mar 2015

Two American scientists receive Paul Ehrlich and Ludwig Darmstaedter Prize

Two American scientists, James P. Allison and Carl H. June, will today receive the Paul Ehrlich and Ludwig Darmstaedter Prize in the Paulskirche in Frankfurt. Both give the patient's own immune system the lasting ability to fight cancer, Allison against late stage melanoma, June against leukemia.

16 Mar 2015

Xylem’s YSI biochemistry analyzer is effective tool for cell culture and cancer research

Specifically for oncology drug development applications, the YSI 2950 biochemistry analyzer is used to measure analytes such as glucose, glutamine, glutamate, lactate, providing a simple, automated analysis of bioprocess cell culture samples, with accurate results in less than a minute.

11 Mar 2015

Unregulated Internet marketing of cancer-related gene tests poses challenges for consumers, physicians

Websites that market personalized cancer care services often overemphasize their purported benefits and downplay their limitations, and many sites offer genetic tests whose value for guiding cancer treatment has not been shown to be clinically useful, according to a new study from Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.

6 Mar 2015

Targeting stroma could potentially extend survival of pancreatic cancer patients

Like a stealth jet cloaks itself from radar, cancer cells cloak themselves within tumors by hiding behind a dense layer of cellular material known as stroma.

27 Feb 2015

Researchers report that 15% of pancreatic cancer patients may benefit from personalized therapies

Cancer researchers at Indiana University report that about 15 percent of people with pancreatic cancer may benefit from therapy targeting a newly identified gene signature.