Pancreatic Cancer Research

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.

In an international randomized phase III trial, patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer who were treated with a combination of albumin-bound paclitaxel (nab-paclitaxel [Abraxane®]) and gemcitabine (Gemzar®) lived longer than patients who were treated with gemcitabine alone. Patients who received both drugs also lived longer without their disease getting worse (progression-free survival).