Pancreatic Cancer Research Results and Study Updates

Two new studies in mice show that adding chemotherapy to the experimental KRAS inhibitor MRTX1133 greatly reduced tumor growth and spread compared with either treatment alone.

Regular imaging tests to monitor the pancreas may help detect pancreatic cancer at an early stage in people who are at high risk, a new study suggests. This type of surveillance could also help improve how long these patients live.

In a new study involving nearly 1,000 people, a liquid biopsy accurately detected early- and late-stage pancreatic cancer. When paired with a test for the protein CA19-9, the combination accurately identified 97% of people with early-stage disease.

A new study finds that pancreatic cancer cells have a ready way to overcome a lack of glucose, a frequent occurrence in this disease. They use another fuel source: a molecule called uridine. Findings from a related study suggest other cancers do as well.

An experimental drug, MRTX1133, shrank tumors or halted their growth in several mouse models of human pancreatic cancer with KRAS G12D mutations, a new study shows. The models included one that is genetically engineered to closely mimic the human disease.

Abnormal collagen that is formed only by pancreatic cancer cells ramps up activity that increases tumor growth and survival, a study found. In mice, blocking production or effects of the abnormal collagen made treatment for pancreatic cancer more effective.

FDA has approved belzutifan (Welireg) to treat adults with von Hippel-Lindau disease (VHL) who have tumors of the kidney, brain, nervous system, or pancreas. The drug may help these patients avoid or delay surgery by shrinking their tumors.

Numerous studies have pointed to a link between new-onset diabetes and pancreatic cancer. Now, several large NCI-supported studies are testing ways to pick out those people whose diabetes might be a sign of early pancreatic cancer, when treatments may be more effective.

The number of dendritic cells in a tumor may explain why immunotherapies work for some cancers but not others, a new study suggests. In mice, boosting dendritic cells triggered an immune response that slowed pancreatic tumor growth.

In people with pancreatic cancer, the makeup of bacteria that populate their tumors could predict how long they live, results from a new study suggest. Experiments in mice suggested that altering the tumor microbiome could play a role in treatment.

Olaparib (Lynparza) may be beneficial for some people with advanced pancreatic cancer who have inherited mutations in the BRCA1 or BRCA2 genes, according to results from the POLO trial.

Three research groups have found a potential way to kill cancer cells in pancreatic tumors by simultaneously blocking the activity of proteins that interact with KRAS proteins and disrupting an energy-creating process called autophagy.

Results from two clinical trials are expected to improve the outlook for some people with early-stage pancreatic cancer. Altering the chemotherapy drugs used and the timing of treatment substantially improved survival.

People with cancerous neuroendocrine tumors (NETs) that affect the digestive tract now have a new treatment option. On January 29, FDA approved the targeted treatment lutetium Lu 177 dotatate (Lutathera®) for adult patients with advanced NETs that affect the pancreas or gastrointestinal tract.

A new blood test that measures levels of two specific proteins may be able to accurately detect pancreatic cancer at its earliest stages, when it is most likely to respond to treatment, findings from a new study suggest.

In 2011, based on initial findings from two clinical trials, the Food and Drug Administration approved sunitinib and everolimus for patients with pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors. Updated results from the everolimus trial were published in September 2016.

Pancreatic cancer cells instruct healthy cells around them to provide nutrients they need to survive and grow, a new study suggests.

Pancreatic cancer cells and neighboring normal cells engage in a two-way molecular conversation that helps drive malignant behavior in the cancer cells, according to new study results.

Patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer that has progressed after receiving gemcitabine-based chemotherapy now have a new treatment option: irinotecan liposome in combination with fluorouracil and leucovorin.

A protein attached to vesicles circulating in the blood could be a biological marker for detecting early signs of pancreatic cancer.