Medical Discovery News
Science permeates everyday life. Yet the understanding of advances in biomedical science is limited at best. Few people make the connection that biomedical science is medicine and that biomedical scientists are working today for the medicine of tomorrow. Our weekly five-hundred-word newspaper column (http://www.illuminascicom.com/) and two-minute radio show provide insights into a broad range of biomedical science topics. Medical Discovery News is dedicated to explaining discoveries in biomedical research and their promise for the future of medicine. Each release is designed to stimulate listeners to think, question and appreciate how science affects their health as well as that of the rest of the world. We also delve into significant biomedical discoveries and portray how science (or the lack of it) has impacted health throughout history.
Medical Discovery News
A New Treatment for Pancreatic Cancer
975 - A New Treatment for Pancreatic Cancer
Welcome to Medical Discovery News. I’m Dr. David Niesel.
And I’m Dr. Norbert Herzog.
People are devastated when they’re told they have pancreatic cancer. That’s because it’s usually diagnosed in the later stages when cancer has spread and survival rates plummet.
Even early detection puts the five-year survival rate at just forty percent. It’s the third leading cancer death behind lung and colon.
Surgery, radiation and chemo are all used to treat pancreatic cancer, as well as immunotherapy. Now researchers are hopeful about a new treatment that targets KRAS, an oncogene.
When cells divide out of control, mutant oncogenes could be the cause. For pancreatic cancer, nearly all these tumors have a mutated KRAS gene.
One mutation being studied is the KRAS G-twelve-C, which changes certain amino acids in the KRAS protein. New clinical trials are using drugs that turn off the mutated versions of the KRAS protein.
In studies with early-stage patients, more than a quarter saw partial reduction in their tumors, while some responded even better. Their tumors stopped growing for nine months before restarting again. Scientists think they can build on this success.
Another treatment being studied for pancreatic cancer is “personalized vaccines,” which use the patient’s tumor cells to develop custom immune responses. Clinical trials have begun, and people are hopeful since the same approach has shown promise in other cancers.
Investment in biomedical science will take us toward a future where one day, pancreatic cancer is no longer a death sentence.
We are Drs. David Niesel and Norbert Herzog, at UTMB and Quinnipiac University, where biomedical discoveries shape the future of medicine. For much more and our disclaimer go to medicaldiscoverynews.com or listen to our podcast on your favorite podcast service.
