Topline
Research combining two different cancer therapies have shown early promise against pancreatic cancer, signaling hope for those living with the often lethal disease and paving the way for future research into treatments that could boost the odds of surviving.
Research has highlighted a promising treatment for pancreatic cancer.
Key Facts
A treatment regimen combining radiation and immunotherapy can help destroy pancreatic tumors and stop the cancer from spreading, according to research on animals published in the journal Cancer Cell on Thursday.
Immunotherapy is a form of cancer treatment that helps a person’s immune system fight the cancer and radiation therapy, also known as radiotherapy, deploys high doses of radiation like x-rays to destroy cancer cells and tumors.
Pancreatic cancer does not usually respond well to immunotherapy but researchers said a new type of antibody treatment was able to boost the number of immune cells capable of fighting cancerous ones.
The tumor-fighting effect was magnified when used alongside radiation therapy, said Sana Karam, a cancer specialist at the University of Colorado and the study’s lead author, enabling them to focus on eliminating “bad” cells within the immune system.
The approach worked throughout the body—important for cancers that have begun to spread, or metastasize, which is often the case when pancreatic cancer is discovered—Karam said, adding that the immune system was capable of mounting a response when encountering the cancer again in the future.
Karam said the finding could change the way doctors treat pancreatic patients in the “near future” and that “we can stop the disease from coming back.”
Crucial Quote
“I’ve never been more hopeful about the possibility of improving the survival rate for this disease,” Karam said. “In just one radiation session, we saw a remarkable immune response that could change how we treat pancreatic cancer patients.”
What To Watch For
The study was conducted in animals, meaning it is in very early stages and a long way from widespread use in humans. It is promising, however, and the researchers said they hope to conduct clinical trials using the technique. Though similar research on immunotherapy is underway in Europe, the researchers said their work marks the first time immunotherapy has been combined with radiation therapy and focused on pancreatic cancer tumors.
Key Background
Pancreatic cancer is the 10th most commonly diagnosed cancer in the U.S. and the third-leading cause of cancer-related deaths. It could be on track to become the second-leading cause by 2030. Though some progress in treating the disease has been made in recent years, pancreatic cancer has the lowest survival rate of any group of cancers, with around 12% of people living at least five years after their diagnosis. One of the key reasons for this is that it often goes undetected until it is in its later stages and has started to spread throughout the body. At this point, surgical removal may not be viable and treatments that effectively treat it are very limited, though experts are working on developing new ones and advancing others like immunotherapy. Immunotherapy is not yet as widely used as other forms of cancer treatment like chemotherapy and radiation therapy but they have been able to dramatically boost survival rates for some forms of the disease.
Big Number
49,830. That’s how many people died from pancreatic cancer in 2022, according to the National Cancer Institute. It is the third-deadliest cancer, trailing lung and bronchus cancers and colorectal cancers, which respectively claimed an estimated 130,180 and 52,580 lives. In total, cancer killed an estimated 609,360 people in the U.S. last year, according to NCI, and around 1.9 million people were diagnosed with the disease.
Further Reading
Pancreatic Cancer Breakthrough: Discovery Suggests Possible Way To Treat Deadly Disease — And A Drug Already Exists To Do It (Forbes)
Cancer Will Cost U.S. $5.3 Trillion By 2050, Researchers Estimate (Forbes)
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