Pancreatic cancer breakthrough: tumors disappear in mice

Researchers in Spain have developed a new therapy protocol that could revolutionize the treatment of pancreatic cancer.

Notoriously aggressive and difficult to treat, pancreatic cancer is rarely diagnosed in its early stages, as typical symptoms — including back pain, indigestion, nausea, fatigue and bloating — are common and commonly dismissed.

In more than 60% of cases, by the time of diagnosis, pancreatic cancer has already advanced to Stage 4.

Further, the tumor’s biology makes it resistant to traditional treatments like chemotherapy.

Currently, drugs used to treat pancreatic cancer work to block the activity of KRS, a genetic mutation found in the vast majority (90%) of pancreatic cancer patients. Results are modest, however, because within months, tumors become resistant to the treatment.

However, researchers at Spain’s National Cancer Research Centre (CNIO) say they have developed a triple therapy treatment that prevents this resistance.

Published recently in PNAS, the research demonstrates that the therapy completely eliminates pancreatic tumors in mice with minimal side effects.

The CNIO team’s approach combines an experimental KRAS inhibitor with a protein degrader and a lung cancer drug to target KRAS at three points rather than one.

Applying this triple threat led to the permanent disappearance of pancreatic tumors in mice.

According to the study authors, these promising results “pave the way for the design of combined therapies that may improve survival.”

This is especially good news given the grim prognosis of pancreatic cancer.

Approximately 67,530 patients in the US — 35,190 men and 32,340 women — are expected to be diagnosed with pancreatic cancer this year, according to the American Cancer Society, with roughly 52,740 dying of the disease.

The research team notes that despite these promising results, replicating this therapy for use in a clinical setting will not be easy, nor will it happen quickly.

“Although experimental results like those described here have never been obtained before, we are still not in a position to carry out clinical trials with the triple therapy,” Mariano Barbacid, head of the Experimental Oncology Group at CNIO, said in a statement.

Despite the long road ahead, Barbacid and his team remain hopeful that their efforts could reshape the treatment and prognosis of pancreatic cancer.

“These results could open the door to new therapeutic options to improve the clinical outcome of patients in the not-too-distant future,” he said.

This is the latest “win” in the battle against pancreatic cancer.

Last year, scientists at UCLA developed an “off-the-shelf” cell-based immunotherapy that tracked down and killed pancreatic cancer cells even after they had spread to other organs.

In a mouse study, the treatment slowed cancer growth, extended survival and remained effective even within the harsh environment of solid tumors.

Late last year, British researchers also began testing a breathalyzer that could potentially reveal the presence of cancer. Experts say it could be the biggest breakthrough in the fight against the deadly disease in half a century.