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.

New automaton model simulates various scenarios of tumor growth

Cancer constantly wages war on the human body. Battles are won, lost or sometimes end in a stalemate. In pancreatic cancer, this stalemate—known as tumor dormancy—can last up to 25 years before becoming aggressively malignant, a phenomena that is poorly understood.

17 Oct 2014

New research may help identify individuals at increased risk of pancreatic cancer

New research that provides a better understanding of pancreatic cancer may help identify individuals at increased risk. The findings are published early online in Cancer, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society.

15 Oct 2014

Recent clinical study sheds light on potential approach to more personalized care for pancreatic cancer

Pancreatic cancer is one of the deadliest cancers. Even with aggressive treatment, the prognosis is poor, with various factors stacking the odds against successful treatment: early detection is uncommon, it tends to spread quickly and recurrence is likely. However, several newer approaches show promise in increasing the response rate to pancreatic cancer treatment.

10 Oct 2014

Scientists show how BRCA2 protein works to repair damaged DNA

Scientists have taken pictures of the BRCA2 protein for the first time, showing how it works to repair damaged DNA.

6 Oct 2014

Halozyme's PEGPH20 receives FDA Orphan Drug designation for treatment of pancreatic cancer

Halozyme Therapeutics, Inc. today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has granted Orphan Drug designation for PEGylated recombinant human hyaluronidase (PEGPH20) for the treatment of pancreatic cancer.

3 Oct 2014

Scientists discover sign of early development of pancreatic cancer

Scientists at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and other institutions have discovered a sign of the early development of pancreatic cancer - an upsurge in certain amino acids that occurs before the disease is diagnosed and symptoms appear.

29 Sep 2014

Ohio State researchers develop novel anticancer peptide vaccines and inhibitors

Researchers have developed two new anticancer peptide vaccines and two peptide inhibitors as part of a larger peptide immunotherapy effort at The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center - Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute.

25 Sep 2014

Bacterial communication molecules can be manipulated to prevent cancer cells from spreading

Cancer, while always dangerous, truly becomes life-threatening when cancer cells begin to spread to different areas throughout the body.

25 Sep 2014

Distinct patterns of gene expression identified in several groups of pancreatic CTCs

Analysis of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) in a mouse model of pancreatic cancer identified distinct patterns of gene expression in several groups of CTCs, including significant differences from the primary tumor that may contribute to the ability to generate metastases.

23 Sep 2014

Disrupting cancer regulator MYC: an interview with Professor Kim Janda

MYC is an oncogenic member of the basic helix-loop-helix-leucine zipper transcription factor family. In its monomeric form, MYC’s tertiary structure is intrinsically disordered and the protein is transcriptionally inactive.

17 Sep 2014

Short-term use of DPP-4 inhibitors does not increase risk for pancreatic cancer

Researchers at the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health and the UNC School of Medicine have found that a popular class of diabetes medications called DPP-4 inhibitors does not increase the short-term risk of pancreatic cancer, as was previously reported by other researchers.

5 Sep 2014

KIT spinoff amcure develops tumor therapeutic agents to reduce mortality rate

There is an urgent need for medical agents to treat metastatic tumors. In case of pancreatic cancer, one of the most aggressive types of cancer that is often detected late, 95% of the patients die within five years after the diagnosis.

30 Aug 2014

State highlights: Calif. hospital accused of patient dumping; Wash. mental health changes

Los Angeles City Atty. Mike Feuer has filed a lawsuit accusing Glendale Adventist Medical Center of dumping mentally ill and disabled homeless patients on L.A.'s skid row over the last four years. The six-page complaint, filed Wednesday in Los Angeles County Superior Court, said the hospital improperly transported elderly and dependent patients to the downtown Los Angeles neighborhood, a 50-block area "known for extreme poverty, homelessness, rampant sale and use of illegal drugs and violent crime" (Holland, 8/22).

26 Aug 2014

Study links gum disease to lung disease, cancer and heart failure

Most people are very familiar with the reality that, if they don't practice regular brushing and overall good dental hygiene, they are at risk for developing gum disease. Less well known is the full extent of the potential harm caused by gum disease.

22 Aug 2014

Dasatinib: Leukemia drug shows promise for treating skin, breast and other cancers

A leukemia drug called dasatinib shows promise for treating skin, breast and several other cancers, according to researchers at Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine.

20 Aug 2014

Injections of anaerobic bacteria can shrink tumors in rats, dogs and human

Deep within most tumors lie areas that remain untouched by chemotherapy and radiation. These troublesome spots lack the blood and oxygen needed for traditional therapies to work, but provide the perfect target for a new cancer treatment using bacteria that thrive in oxygen-poor conditions.

14 Aug 2014

Halozyme reports revenues of $18.4 million, net loss of $16.3 million for Q2 2014

Halozyme Therapeutics, Inc. today reported financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2014. Financial highlights for the second quarter include revenues of $18.4 million and a net loss of $16.3 million, or $0.13 per share.

12 Aug 2014

Cancer Research UK, CRT and Astellas collaborate to find new drug targets for pancreatic cancer

Cancer Research UK and its commercial arm, Cancer Research Technology (“CRT”), are to join forces with Astellas Pharma Inc. (Tokyo, President & CEO: Yoshihiko Hatanaka, “Astellas”) to find new drug targets in the fight against cancer, with an initial focus on pancreatic cancer.

8 Aug 2014

Oncolytics Biotech announces financial results and operational highlights for second quarter 2014

Oncolytics Biotech Inc. today announced its financial results and operational highlights for the second quarter ended June 30, 2014.

7 Aug 2014

Long-term survival from pancreatic cancer fails to improve in 40 years

Long-term survival from pancreatic cancer has failed to improve in 40 years - with the outlook remaining the lowest of the 21 most common cancers, according to new figures published by Cancer Research UK today.