Promising Breakthrough In Fight Against Deadly Pancreatic Cancer

A promising new lab study revealed that almost all pancreatic cancer tumors shrank when treated by an experimental drug. Enthusiastic researchers announced the breakthrough treatment was effective in shrinking the tumors by between 30-98%.

Approximately 67,000 Americans are diagnosed with pancreatic cancer annually, and about 52,000 die from the disease.

Many famous personalities have succumbed to the malady in recent years, including Steve Jobs, Patrick Swayze, Aretha Franklin, Ruth Bader Ginburg and Alan Rickman.

The insidious disease spreads rapidly in even early stages, leading to the high mortality rate. Normal cancer treatments such as chemotherapy, surgery and immunotherapy drugs often fail to save the patient’s life.

But the recent breakthrough reportedly interfered with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinomas, the genetic drivers for the most common forms of the disease. At the center of the treatment is a gene called KRAS, which facilitates many functions of the cell.

When KRAS is mutated, it results in uncontrolled growth of cells and the onset of the often fatal cancer.

Lead researcher Dr. Kenneth Olive of Columbia University said that KRAS has been known to scientists for over four decades. It drives, he explained, 95% of all such cases and there have been no tools to stop its rapid progression.

Researchers studied the response of human cancer cells to the drug and discovered that shrinkage occurred in roughly seven out of 10 cases. Olive described the promising success of the drug.

He noted, “RMC-7977 as a single agent outperformed the best combination regimen that has ever been reported in the literature in that model system.” Olive said the study marked the first time he witnessed tumors shrinking in all models.

Even better, the treatment did not harm other cells that were still healthy. This is a regular problem with traditional treatments such as chemo and radiation.

Olive added, “I’ve been working on pancreatic cancer for almost 20 years, and I’ve never seen preclinical results like these.” Clinical trials are necessary, of course, but the doctor said that there is a “real chance” that the drug will change the approach to pancreatic cancer care.