Research in pancreatic cancer
Cancer research is a long and careful process. It often takes many years for tests and treatments that researchers are studying to be ready for use in people with cancer.
Most research starts in a lab(laboratory) where researchers will test ideas, procedures or treatments in cells or animals. If lab researchers find promising ways to treat, manage or prevent cancer, these need to be tested in people (called clinical research). All research is an important part of learning and improving cancer care, even if it’s not studied in people. As research is done, the results are published in scientific or medical journals and presented at conferences around the world – adding to our collective knowledge of cancer. Doctors use what they learn from research studies to offer the most effective treatments for cancer.
We are always learning more about cancer. The following is some promising research in pancreatic cancer.
Changing the tumour microenvironment
The tumour microenvironment (TME) is the area around cancer cells. It includes different types of immune system cells, nerves, blood vessels and fibrous tissues. The TME plays an important role in how cancer grows, spreads and resists treatment.
Pancreatic cancer cells have a TME that makes them very resistant to treatment. One area of research in pancreatic cancer focuses on discovering how to get past, change or break down the TME so that treatments can be more effective against this type of cancer.
Alternating electric fields therapy
Alternating electric fields therapy, which is also called tumour treating fields or TTFs, is a type of cancer treatment that uses a device that you carry with you to send electrical currents through the skin and into the pancreas. The electricity stops the cancer cells from dividing, which prevents the tumour from growing or spreading quickly into nearby tissues. Researchers also think that the electrical currents can change the TME, allowing other treatments to become more effective against pancreatic cancer.
A recent clinical trial combined alternating electric fields therapy with chemotherapy to see if the 2 treatments could improve survival and quality of life for people with locally advanced pancreatic cancer. Locally advanced pancreatic cancer is cancer that has spread around the pancreas but hasn’t spread to distant parts of the body. Results showed that people who had a combination of alternating electric fields therapy and chemotherapy had less pain and a greater overall survival than people who were given just chemotherapy.
Immunotherapy
Immunotherapy uses the immune system to try to attack the cancer cells in the body. One area of research in pancreatic cancer is looking at whether different types of immunotherapy can change the TME, making treatment more effective against pancreatic cancer.
These are some of the types of immunotherapy being studied for use with pancreatic cancer:
- oncolytic virus therapy, which uses viruses to infect and destroy cancer cells
- adoptive cell transfer therapy, such as CAR T-cell therapy, which uses a person’s own immune cells to fight cancer
- immune checkpoint inhibitors
- cancer vaccines
KRAS mutations
KRAS is a gene that controls cell growth and division. Changes (mutations) to the gene mean that cancer cells can grow and divide out of control.
Around 90% of pancreatic cancers have KRAS mutations. Researchers are developing new drugs to target the most common KRAS mutations, and recent trial results are quite encouraging.
Using artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence (AI) uses computers and computer software to look at large amounts of data to solve problems.
Pancreatic cancer is often diagnosed at later stages when the cancer has already spread, making the disease harder to treat. Researchers are looking at how AI can help find pancreatic cancer or risks for the disease early, before the cancer starts or spreads. They are doing this using thousands of anonymous health records and imaging data to train AI to find patterns that can identify factors that increase the risk of pancreatic cancer.
AI is also being studied to develop personalized plans that can improve treatment and survival from pancreatic cancer. A computer program is given information about an individual patient, including tumour genetics, pathology slides, biomarkers, imaging data and medical history. The program then produces a report to help the healthcare team determine which treatments should be used for the best outcome. AI may also be able to alert the healthcare team that treatment is no longer effective, so that any disease progression can be treated quickly.
It will take time for AI-based programs to be used widely to find or help treat pancreatic cancer.
Understanding cancer research
Researchers are continually trying to better understand cancer. What we know about cancer – how to prevent it, how it develops, how to treat it, how to help people cope with it – depends on research at many levels and in many settings.
Find out more about different kinds of cancer research.
Participating in a clinical trial
Some people choose to participate in cancer research through clinical trials. Clinical trials are designed to find out if a treatment or tool is safe and effective before it becomes widely available.
Find out more about clinical trials.
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