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.
Pancreas
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…
News • RAS protein mutation
New treatment approach targets cancer 'Death Star'
A new way to target a mutant protein which can cause the deadliest of cancers in humans has been uncovered by scientists at Leeds. The mutated form of the RAS protein has been referred to as the “Death Star” because of its ability to resist treatments and is found in 96% of pancreatic cancers and 54% of colorectal cancers. RAS is a protein important for health but in its mutated form it can…
News • Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC)
Cutting-edge approach to fighting deadly form of pancreatic cancer
By 2030, the most lethal form of pancreatic cancer, pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), is projected to become the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the United States. Not only are therapeutic options limited, but nearly half of PDAC patients who have their tumors removed surgically experience disease recurrence within a year, even with chemotherapy. For more advanced stages,…
Video • Bioprinting breakthrough
3D printed mini pancreas to help fight diabetes
First you see it as a transparent shape on a computer screen – a small electronic replica of the human pancreas. Then just 30 seconds later the tissue is printed out on a bioprinter, blood vessels and all, from a sample of human stem cells. This amazing feat is possible thanks to new technology created at EPFL’s Laboratory of Applied Photonics Devices (LAPD) and further developed by…
News • Stopping the spread
Research sheds new light on pancreatic cancer metastasis
With an overall survival rate of 9% for those diagnosed, pancreatic cancer remains exceedingly difficult to treat. However, the patient's primary tumor typically isn't what leads to death - it is the cancer's ability to evade detection and metastasize to other organs. A team of researchers at the College of Medicine at the University of Oklahoma has published a new study in the journal…
News • Expert prediction
How will Covid affect cancer death rates in 2021?
Researchers have called on European policymakers to make adequate resources available to tackle pancreatic cancer, a disease that is almost invariably fatal and where little progress has been made over the past 40 years. In the latest predictions for cancer deaths in the EU and UK for 2021, published in the cancer journal Annals of Oncology, researchers led by Carlo La Vecchia (MD), a professor…
News • Insulin inhibitory receptor
New promising target for diabetes treatment
Researchers from Helmholtz Zentrum Muenchen, the Technical University of Munich and the German Center for Diabetes have discovered a novel and druggable insulin inhibitory receptor, named inceptor. The blocking of inceptor function leads to an increased sensitisation of the insulin signaling pathway in pancreatic beta cells. This might allow protection and regeneration of beta cells for diabetes…
Article • Finding therapeutic targets
Pancreatic cancer: Seeking viable treatment strategies
Pancreatic cancer has the worst survival rate of any cancers, with immunotherapies currently offering negligible treatment benefits for patients. To help identify new therapeutic approaches, researchers from the University of Oxford have been focusing on leukocyte infiltration as a prognostic marker of the disease. Their study and findings were outlined by Dr Shivan Sivakumar during a session…
News • Unique awareness campaign
Crafting quilts to fight pancreatic cancer
Chemistry researchers at the University of Strathclyde are aiming to raise awareness of pancreatic cancer – with the use of specially-made quilts. Fellow cancer researchers across the UK are being asked to send diagrams illustrating their work. These will then be used as the patterns for quilts made by skilled crafters. After the project is concluded, the Strathclyde researchers hope to be able…
