Pancreas

The pancreas produces important hormones – especially insulin, which regulates blood sugar, and ghrelin, which stimulates appetite. If the function of the pancreas is disturbed, diabetes can be the result, but gastrointestinal diseases such as pancreatitis are also highly relevant in medicine – as is pancreatic cancer, which is one of the most aggressive and deadly tumour types.

News • Incidentaloma detection

Liquid biopsy as diagnostic tool for pancreatic lesions

New research highlights the potential of liquid biopsy in diagnosing pancreatic incidentaloma - lesions which can occasionally signal pancreatic cancer in its earliest stages.

News • Insulinoma imaging

New PET technique reveals rare pancreas tumors

Insulinomas are benign tumors in the pancreas, but can still cause problems for patients. A new imaging technique reliably detects these previously hard-to-find tumors, according to recent research.

News • Glycopeptide probes for antibody detection

New method speeds up pancreatic cancer detection

A new method could lead to a significantly more precise and reliable diagnosis of pancreatic cancer. It is based on the selective detection of specific antibodies in blood samples.

News • Research on physical conditions

Exploring the link between obesity and cancer risk

Why does obesity increase the risk of cancer and possibly metastasis? Researchers in Spain are currently investigating this very question.

News • The role of tissue stiffness

Pancreatic cancer: new approach could reverse chemo resistance

Researchers at Stanford have demonstrated that conditions in the matrix surrounding pancreatic cancer cells impact whether those cells respond to chemotherapy.

News • Antibacterial protein as therapeutic target

Pancreatic cancer: new approach for immunotherapy

Pancreatic cancer stem cells exploit an antibacterial protein to evade the immune system. Removing this protein could pave the way to more effective immunotherapy, new research suggests.

Innovative Avenue of Treatment – Internal Radiotherapy for Locally Advanced Unresectable Pancreatic Cancer

In more than one in six patients diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, the tumour is initially diagnosed at a non-metastatic primarily unresectable, locally advanced stage (LAPC). For these patients, a new internal radiation procedure, OncoSil™ brachytherapy, may become a treatment option – in Germany, around 858 patients could benefit from this innovation annually.

News • Chemotherapy and novel surgery technique

Study explores new approach to 'inoperable' pancreatic cancer

US oncologists are exploring a new combined chemotherapy and surgical approach to safely remove advanced pancreatic tumors that were previously considered inoperable.

News • PDAC subtype classification

Attacking the roots of pancreatic cancer

Pancreatic cancer is not just one disease, but that’s the way it is currently treated. New work from Columbia University could help pave the way for a change.

News • Immunotherapy effectiveness

Sex differences in pancreatic cancer: researchers reveal possible explanation

For pancreatic cancer, the effect of immunotherapy is limited and differs between men and women. Researchers at Karolinska Institutet have now found a possible explanation for this sex difference.

News • Inhibition of solid tumor growth

'Paralyzing' pancreatic cancer with low-intensity ultrasound

A new study from Spain has demonstrated the efficiency of an ultrasound radiation-based therapy on the inhibition of cancer cell motion in pancreas cancer models.

News • Trial finds improved survival rates

Pancreatic cancer: chemotherapy before surgery brings benefits

Treating pancreatic cancer patients with chemotherapy before surgery significantly improved 1-year survival rates compared to immediate surgery, a randomised clinical trial has found.

Article • Visceral imaging

Endosonography: AI takes on the “supreme discipline”

Endosonography poses unique challenges for medical professionals, because two demanding disciplines have to be mastered at the same time. The use of artificial intelligence (AI) could help speed up the notoriously slow learning curve of the procedure, says Prof Dr Christoph F. Dietrich. At the Visceral Medicine Congress in Hamburg, the expert explained how AI can help endosonography achieve…

News • Immune systems timulation

Using senescent cells as anti-cancer vaccines

Researchers from Barcelona report that vaccination with senescent cells shows promise in experimental models of melanoma and pancreatic cancer.

News • Appeal for imaging improvements

Study reveals alarming failures in pancreatic cancer detection

Pancreatic cancer tumours are being missed on CT and MRI scans, narrowing the window for life-saving curative surgery, research presented at UEG Week 2022 has revealed.

News • Model system shows tumor grwoth

Novel organoid model for pancreatic cancer

Researchers in Munich have developed a novel model system that can be used to precisely track the growth steps and three-dimensional arrangement of pancreatic cancer cells.

News • Improved disease management

Type 1 diabetes: researchers explore benefits of 'bionic pancreas'

A device using next-gen technology to automatically deliver insulin was found to be more effective at maintaining blood glucose levels than standard-of-care management for type 1 diabetes.

News • Early clues in the panceas

Detecting diabetes before first symptoms appear

A team from Geneva has discovered a molecule that can identify the development of diabetes before the first symptoms appear.

News • BRCA and prostate, pancreatic cancers

Faulty 'breast cancer gene' BRCA also dangerous for men

Faulty versions of the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes are well known to increase the risk of breast and ovarian cancer. Now, they have been linked to several other cancers, including those that affect men.

News • Pancreas

Fat has unexpected benefits in type 2 diabetes

Scientists have found that fat can help the pancreas adapt to excess sugar, thereby slowing the onset of diabetes.

News • Ductal adenocarcinoma

Pancreatic cancer ‘priming’ may make chemotherapy more effective

A new approach to ‘prime’ the tumour environment may improve how effective chemotherapy is for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma, one of the most aggressive forms of pancreatic cancer. In preclinical models, a team at the Garvan Institute of Medical Research could enhance the tumours’ response to chemotherapy by reducing the stiffness and density of the connective tissue known as the stroma,…

News • Microscopy enhanced

3D imaging of human organs with micrometer resolution

Researchers at Umeå University now demonstrate a method by which specific cell types in human organs can be studied with micrometer precision. The method can be used to reveal previously unrecognised alterations in the pancreas, but it can also be used to study other human organs and diseases.

News • Combined chemotherapy

Pancreatic cancer: New treatment promising for older patients

Pancreatic cancer is a disease of the elderly: the average age of patients is 72. In Austria, about 1,600 people are diagnosed each year. Since pancreatic cancer has no specific symptoms, it is not usually diagnosed until the tumor is locally advanced or has already metastasized. Once the tumor has metastasized, it is usually no longer treatable by surgery or radiotherapy. In addition, the drug…

News • Genetic alterations

Same mutation, different cancers: researchers explore connections

Why do alterations of certain genes cause cancer only in specific organs of the human body? Scientists at the German Cancer Consortium (DKTK), the Technical University of Munich (TUM), and the University Medical Center Göttingen have now demonstrated that cells originating from different organs are differentially susceptible to activating mutations in cancer drivers: The same mutation in…

Article • Oncology

Pancreatic cancer - current challenges and future direction

Pancreatic cancer is one of the deadliest cancers in the world, and one of the most difficult to treat. In 2020, an estimated 495,000 individuals worldwide were diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and an estimated 466,000 died, according to statistics from the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer. Most patients with advanced disease die within a year of…

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