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.

Leading experts focus on challenges and opportunities affecting fight against cancer

A panel of leading health, economics and policy experts today discussed the prospects for a future where cancers are rendered manageable or even eradicated and the variables affecting progress toward that goal so that cancer patients are able to lead normal, productive lives - and thus be "free from" their cancers.

3 Mar 2014

Extract from amur cork tree shows promise in treating pancreatic cancer

The bark of the Amur cork tree (Phellodendron amurense) has traveled a centuries-long road with the healing arts. Now it is being put through its paces by science in the fight against pancreatic cancer, with the potential to make inroads against several more.

3 Mar 2014

Survival rates for bladder cancer in UK are falling, confirms new study

Of the top 10 cancers in the UK, bladder cancer is only one where survival rates have been shown to be getting worse. New figures published this month in the Journal of Clinical Urology confirm in a study of cases of bladder cancer in England over a 19 year period (from 1990 until 2009) that survival rates here in the UK are falling and are worse than in than in other European countries with similar incidence rates.

27 Feb 2014

Researchers find link between acute pancreatitis and pancreatic cancer

In a study published in Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Saint Louis University researchers have found a link between acute pancreatitis (inflammation of the pancreas) and pancreatic cancer, a finding which may eventually lead to some pancreatic cancers being detected earlier.

27 Feb 2014

Study highlights the importance of personalized medicine for treating cancer

If a driver is traveling to New York City, I-95 might be their route of choice. But they could also take I-78, I-87 or any number of alternate routes. Most cancers begin similarly, with many possible routes to the same disease. A new study found evidence that assessing the route to cancer on a case-by-case basis might make more sense than basing a patient's cancer treatment on commonly disrupted genes and pathways.

26 Feb 2014

Study identifies enzyme with key role in precancerous lesions

Cancer of the pancreas is usually not detected until it's too late to cure. But precursor lesions that form in the pancreas and its ducts can signal the disease before it strikes, and when caught early enough, they can be prevented from progressing to become cancer.

26 Feb 2014

Certain fragments of DNA shed by tumors can be used to non-invasively screen for early-stage cancers

Certain fragments of DNA shed by tumors into the bloodstream can potentially be used to non-invasively screen for early-stage cancers, monitor responses to treatment and help explain why some cancers are resistant to therapies, according to results of an international study led by Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center investigators.

20 Feb 2014

Viewpoints: Parsing Obamacare numbers; experts on long-term care insurance; French cancer care

The monthly announcement of Obamacare's enrollment figures has become an exercise in confirmation bias, starting with the administration itself. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius noted the "encouraging trends" in yesterday's release, while House Speaker John Boehner opted to highlight its "embarrassing failures." ... The only debate worth having is how to improve enrollment. ... enrollment numbers for Obamacare aren't some referendum on the president's popularity or lack thereof. They're the best way to tell whether the law is working as planned -- and how to adjust if it isn't (2/13).

17 Feb 2014

Researchers discover highly accurate, noninvasive test to identify benign pancreatic cysts

Researchers at the Indiana University School of Medicine have discovered a highly accurate, noninvasive test to identify benign pancreatic cysts, which could spare patients years of nerve-racking trips to the doctor or potentially dangerous surgery.

12 Feb 2014

Surgeons now use minimally invasive robotic surgical system for Whipple procedure

The Whipple procedure, used to remove tumors from pancreatic cancer patients, is one of surgery's most extensive and challenging operations.

11 Feb 2014

Researchers discover biological switch that regulates protein that causes fatty liver disease in mice

Studying a cycle of protein interactions needed to make fat, Johns Hopkins researchers say they have discovered a biological switch that regulates a protein that causes fatty liver disease in mice.

11 Feb 2014

Pancreatic stellate cells help pancreatic cancer grow and spread in cell hijack method

Pancreatic stellate cells, which normally aid tissue repair, unwittingly help pancreatic cancer grow and spread in a method of 'cell hijack' only seen before in brain and breast cancer, according to new research from Queen Mary University of London.

10 Feb 2014

New low-cost device may help pathologists to quickly diagnose pancreatic cancer

Pancreatic cancer is a particularly devastating disease. At least 94 percent of patients will die within five years, and in 2013 it was ranked as one of the top 10 deadliest cancers.

7 Feb 2014

Study describes new tack in treatment of lung adenocarcinomas

The most common genetic subtype of lung cancer, which has long defied treatment with targeted therapies, has had its growth halted by a combination of two already-in-use drugs in laboratory and animal studies, setting the stage for clinical trials of the drugs in patients, researchers at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and other scientists report in a new study.

31 Jan 2014

New pre-clinical data shows potential protective effects of GFT505 in different types of cancer

GENFIT, a biopharmaceutical company at the forefront of drug discovery and development, focusing on the early diagnosis and preventive treatment of cardiometabolic and associated disorders, today announces new pre-clinical data demonstrating the inhibitory effects of GFT505 on the proliferation of cancer cells of different origins.

30 Jan 2014

First patient enrolled pilot clinical trial of NovoTTF Therapy plus gemcitabine for pancreatic adenocarcinoma

Novocure announced today that the first patient has enrolled in the EF-20 Study, an open label, pilot clinical trial of NovoTTF Therapy plus gemcitabine as first-line therapy for patients with locally advanced and metastatic pancreatic adenocarcinoma.

25 Jan 2014

Diagnostic microRNA panels in blood may help in early detection of pancreatic cancer

Researchers have identified diagnostic microRNA panels in whole blood that had the ability to distinguish, to some degree, patients with and without pancreatic cancer, according to a study in the January 22/29 issue of JAMA.

21 Jan 2014

Childhood brain cancer (ETMR/ETANTR): an interview with Dr. Nada Jabado, Department of Pediatrics at McGill University

Embryonal tumours with multilayered rosettes (ETMR) are rare, deadly brain tumours that affect mainly children below the age of 4 years. There are 300 cases reported but probably there are many more as this tumour is often misdiagnosed.

21 Jan 2014

Researchers report three-fold increase in use of MIS for patients with pancreatic disease

Researchers at University of California, San Diego School of Medicine report a three-fold increase in the use of minimally invasive surgery (MIS) across the nation for patients with pancreatic disease.

16 Jan 2014

Researchers report three-fold increase in use of minimally invasive surgery for pancreatic disease

Researchers at University of California, San Diego School of Medicine report a three-fold increase in the use of minimally invasive surgery across the nation for patients with pancreatic disease. Although adaptation of MIS for this difficult-to-reach gland is recent, the growing trend points to improved patient outcomes, such as reduced bleeding and infections. Now published online, the paper will appear in the March print edition of JAMA Surgery.

15 Jan 2014