"I Had No Idea I had an Increased Risk for Breast Cancer - Until My Dad Got Pancreatic Cancer"
When Shelby Hasten’s dad was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2014, it’s safe to say her life changed forever. In addition to grappling with the illness of her father, Shelby started down a path that led her to discover she was at an increased risk of developing cancer herself.
A friend of Shelby’s—an ob-gyn nurse practitioner— is the one who let her know that there was, sadly, a connection between the genetics of pancreatic cancer and breast cancer. (According to the American Cancer Society, certain inherited gene mutations can increase your risk for both types of the disease).
9.13.16
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pancreatic tumour tissue development stopped by vitamin a process
Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), the most common type of malignancy of the pancreas, is extremely aggressive and very difficult to treat but now scientists suggest vitamin A may have a role to play in tackling the commonest form of pancreatic cancer.
In a new study, researchers from Imperial College London observed that it was possible to switch off pancreatic stellate cells (cells in the immediate tumour environment), potentially preventing the formation of the tissue around the tumour, through a process involving vitamin A
9.8.16
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A u.s. "cancer moonshot" to accelerate cancer research
In January 2016 President Obama announced a “Cancer Moonshot” to “accelerate our understanding of cancer and its prevention, early detection, treatment, and cure” (1). A Blue Ribbon Panel (BRP) of scientific experts was convened to make recommendations to the National Cancer Advisory Board (NCAB), the adviser to the National Cancer Institute (NCI), on research opportunities uniquely poised for acceleration. These recommendations were presented on 7 September 2016 (2). As cochairs of the BRP, we describe our approach, what it produced, and our expectations. The Lustgarten Foundation has funded two of the authors of this article, Dr. Tyler Jacks and Dr. Elizabeth Jaffee.
9.8.16
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PEGPH20 as a potential breakthrough in pancreatic adenocarcinoma
The upcoming HALO 301 is the first-ever biomarker-driven trial in pancreatic adenocarcinoma, and could potentially change the treatment paradigm for the disease.
In an interview with Targeted Oncology, Margaret A. Tempero, MD, director, Pancreas Center, University of California, San Francisco, discusses the start of enrollment for the HALO 301 trial, the importance of a biomarker-driven trial in pancreatic adenocarcinoma, and how tumor microenvironments play a huge role in the disease.
9.8.16
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eus-fna can help doctors manage certain pancreatic lesions more effectively
An endoscopic procedure can improve the outlook for patients with a fairly common type of pancreatic lesion that is challenging to manage and that, if left untreated, can progress to cancer, according to a study in the September issue of GIE: Gastrointestinal Endoscopy, the peer-reviewed journal of the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ASGE).
9.8.16
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pancreatic cancer trial to make tumours more sensitive to treatment
Cancer Research UK launches a first-of-its-kind pancreatic cancer clinical trial to make cancer cells more responsive to chemotherapy and radiotherapy. The trial, which launches* in the UK today, will treat pancreatic cancer patients whose cancer has grown too big to be removed by surgery but has not yet spread to other parts of the body.
8.31.16
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Novel drug therapy kills pancreatic cancer cells by reducing levels of antioxidants
Cold Spring Harbor, NY – Reducing levels of antioxidants in pancreatic cancer cells can help kill them, newly published research reveals, suggesting an entirely new treatment strategy for the notoriously lethal illness, in which less than 5 percent of patients survive 5 years. Although it has become almost a matter of conventional wisdom in popular culture that raising antioxidant levels in the body tends to keep cancer at bay, a team at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) demonstrates in a series of sophisticated experiments that in the specific context of pancreatic cells on the road to cancer or already in a malignant state, the last thing one wants to do is to raise antioxidant levels.
8.31.16
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Immune System Infighting Explains Pancreatic Cancer's Aggression
NEW YORK, Aug. 25, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Internal conflict between cell types explains why the immune system struggles to recognize and attack pancreatic cancer. Curbing this infighting has the potential to make treatment more effective, according to a study led by researchers from NYU Langone Medical Center and its Perlmutter Cancer Center. The Lustgarten Foundation has funded this research.
8.25.16
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$10.4 million awarded for pancreatic cancer research
The National Cancer Institute (NCI) has awarded a $10.4 million, five-year grant to Washington University researchers and physicians at Siteman Cancer Center to lead a national group of experts in collaborative pancreatic cancer research.
8.15.16
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Metformin may improve survival in pancreatic cancer patients, study suggests
Researchers from the Tisch Cancer Institute of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City have found that patients with type 2 diabetes already taking metformin before a diagnosis of pancreatic cancer had better chance of survival than those on other medications.
8.11.16
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Pancreatic cancer cells find unique fuel sources to keep from starving
Pancreatic cancer cells avert starvation in dense tumors by ordering nearby support cells to supply them with an alternative source of nutrition. This is the finding of a study in cancer cells and mice published August 10 in Nature. The study was led by researchers from NYU Langone Medical Center, the Dana Farber Cancer Institute at Harvard, and the University of Michigan Medical School.
8.10.16
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In cancer, it's back to the future as old treatments make cutting-edge ones more effective
New cancer drugs that unleash the immune system on tumors are all the rage, getting credit for curing former President Jimmy Carter’s advanced melanoma and inspiring tech billionaire Sean Parker to pledge $250 million to cancer research. Behind the excitement, however, is the hard truth that these therapies work in only a minority of patients.
8.10.16
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UCLA Pancreas Tissue Bank
David Dawson, M.D, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Department of Pathology and Laboratory and Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, in the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA is Director of the UCLA Pancreas Tissue Bank. Since 2005, the UCLA Pancreas Tissue Bank has accrued a repository of high quality archival pancreas tissues and tumors that are made available to researchers for the purpose of facilitating basic and translational research in pancreatic diseases. These tissue resources allow investigators to confirm promising laboratory results in patient tissue samples and are invaluable tools for the discovery and validation of diagnostic, prognostic or predictive clinical biomarkers.
8.10.16
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Pancreatic cancer resists personalized medicine - what researchers are doing to fight back
A team led by University of Arizona researchers is taking a new, patient-directed approach to treating pancreatic cancer. Rather than relying on conventional cell lines that have defined effective drug targets for other types of cancers, they are creating and sequencing cell lines from a cancer patient's own tissue. Their results, outlined August 4 in Cell Reports, reveal that pancreatic tumors are more varied than previously thought and that drug sensitivity is unique to each patient
8.4.16
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Novel gene-hunting method implicates new culprit in pancreatic cancer
Using an innovative approach to identify a cancer's genetic vulnerabilities by more swiftly analyzing human tumors transplanted into mice, researchers have identified a new potential target for pancreatic cancer treatment, published online in Cell Reports.
6.23.16
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Examining the Relationship Between BRCA and Pancreatic Cancer
Mutations in BRCA1 and BRCA2, most commonly linked with breast and ovarian cancers, are now gaining wider recognition for being associated with pancreatic cancer as well. People with BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutations face a 5 percent risk of getting pancreatic cancer in their lifetime.
6.22.16
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Vitamin D Levels Tied to Survival in Pancreatic Cancer
Important results from a Lustgarten-funded project with Chen Yuan and Brian Wolpin, from the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, and colleagues were recently reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. Their study examined survival outcomes among 493 pancreatic cancer patients from 1984 to 2008, focusing specifically on their blood levels of 25(OH)D, or Vitamin D, before they were diagnosed with the disease. The researchers found that patients with sufficient prediagnostic levels of Vitamin D had a longer overall survival than those who had insufficient levels of Vitamin D.
6.22.16
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VIDEO: ‘Great promise’ in genetic markers for identifying malignancy in pancreatic cysts
In this exclusive video from DDW 2016, outgoing AGA President Michael Camilleri, MD, from the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., discusses two abstracts presented during the AGA Presidential Plenary that show promise for using genetic markers to improve the diagnosis of pancreatic cysts.
6.7.16
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ASCO Releases Clinical Practice Guideline on Treatment of Potentially Curable Pancreatic Cancer
ASCO has released a clinical practice guideline on the treatment of potentially curable pancreatic cancer, as reported by Alok A. Khorana, MD, of Cleveland Clinic, and colleagues, in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. The recommendations are based on expert panel systematic review of the literature from 2002 to 2015.
6.14.16
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Microsoft Finds Cancer Clues in Search Queries
Microsoft scientists have demonstrated that by analyzing large samples of search engine queries they may in some cases be able to identify internet users who are suffering from pancreatic cancer, even before they have received a diagnosis of the disease.
6.7.16
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ASCO Annual Meeting: Existing Treatments Used in New Ways - Mixing old and new chemotherapies to treat pancreatic cancer
Researchers found that adding capecitabine to standard treatment with gemcitabine helped patients live longer. Gemcitabine is the chemotherapy typically used to treat pancreatic cancer after surgery. Capecitabine is a chemotherapy most commonly used to treat breast and colorectal cancers. Adding capecitabine is a new approach to treating pancreatic cancer. Both gemcitabine and capecitabine are available as generic drugs.
6.3.16
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Chemotherapy Combination After Surgery Improves Survival in Pancreatic Cancer
Adding capecitabine to gemcitabine nearly doubled five-year overall survival (OS) rates compared with gemcitabine alone for patients with pancreatic cancer whose tumors had been surgically removed, as demonstrated in a Phase 3 European trial. The median overall survival (OS) was 28 months with the combination chemotherapy regimen compared to 25.5 months with gemcitabine alone, an improvement in survival of 18 percent.
6.3.16
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Momenta Pharmaceuticals Announces Presentation of Final Data from Phase 1 Trial of Necuparanib in Patients with Pancreatic Cancer at ASCO
Results from a Phase 1 trial evaluating necuparanib, a novel drug, in combination with the standard of care, nab-paclitaxel (Abraxane) and gemcitabine, in patients with advanced metastatic pancreatic cancer (ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier NCT01621243), were presented last week at the 2016 ASCO annual meeting.
6.8.16
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ASCO 2016: Rucaparib Shows Clinical Benefit in BRCA-Mutated Pancreatic Cancer
The targeted PARP inhibitor rucaparib, which has demonstrated robust clinical activity in patients with ovarian cancer who have a BRCA mutation, also showed promise in previously treated patients with pancreatic cancer who have the mutation (about 9%), according to results from a Phase II clinical study presented at the 2016 ASCO Annual Meeting.
6.4.16
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96 % of early stage pancreatic cancer patients detected in a clinical validation study with a North American sample cohort. Second study validates Immunovia´s IMMray™ PanCan-d test for early detection of pancreatic cancer
Using the proprietary IMMray™ technology platform and a biomarker signature, Immunovia’s blood test has been able to discriminate between pancreatic cancer patients with stage I, II, III, and IV has been derived from clinical studies covering about 2500 patient samples in two continents.
5.30.16
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Let's Win Launches!
The Lustgarten Foundation is proud to support the initiative Let's Win , the first-ever online community sharing new, innovative science-driven treatments for Pancreatic Cancer which launched this May!
5.16.16
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THE IMPROVISATIONAL ONCOLOGIST: In an era of rapidly proliferating, precisely targeted treatments, every cancer case has to be played by ear.
The Lustgarten Foundation’s Distinguished Scholar, Bert Vogelstein, M.D., a cancer geneticist at Johns Hopkins University, explains in the NY Times article his commitment to finding a treatment that can be effective and less expensive for several cancers, including pancreatic cancer. He discusses that despite our genetic diversity, targeting the 12 core pancreatic cancer pathways rather than the individual gene mutations involved in pancreatic cancer will ultimately impact how cancer is observed and treated.
5.12.16
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AACR Congratulates Newest National Academy of Sciences Members
The American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) congratulates its 10 members who have been elected to the National Academy of Sciences, including Hidde Ploegh, Ph.D., a Research Investigator and Kenneth Kinsler, Ph.D. (Early Detection Initiative) which have been elected are both Lustgarten Foundation grant recipients for their research in pancreatic cancer.
5.05.16
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Study Finds Benefit of Surveillance for Pancreatic Cancer in High-Risk Individuals
"As reported by Vasen et al in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, surveillance for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma in high-risk individuals appears to be of benefit in individuals at risk due to CDKN2A mutation, with the advantage being less clear among individuals at risk due to familial clustering of pancreatic cancer."
5.06.16
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10 Things Cancer Experts Do To Avoid Getting The Disease
There's really no way to soften this: About 1,685,210 cancer cases are expected to be diagnosed in 2016, according to the American Cancer Society, and almost 600,000 Americans will die from these dread diseases. But there are many things you can do to lower your chances of becoming a statistic. We asked top oncologists and other cancer specialists for advice.
4.21.16
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Genomic Analyses Identify Molecular Subtypes of Pancreatic Cancer
Promising research published in Nature demonstrates that there are four distinct subtypes of pancreatic cancer, and each has its own prognosis and molecular characteristics that may predict its responsiveness to certain therapies.
2.24.16
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BRCA Clinics Expand Further Beyond Breast Cancer - New thinking on pancreatic, prostate cancer treatment; centers consolidate patient care under one roof
“A clinic at University of California, San Francisco has set out to specifically treat patients with genetic mutations in BRCA1 and BRCA2, but not just for breast cancer. The mutations are widely recognized as inheritable causes of breast and ovarian cancers, but less well known for their roles in causing pancreatic, prostate and some other cancers that affect both men and women."
2.22.16
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12 Things You Must Know If Pancreatic Cancer Runs in Your Family
“One of our Research Investigators, Dr. Alison Klein (Johns Hopkins University) offers insight into how pancreatic cancer can run in families, and what to do to protect yourself."
1.26.16
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Pancreatic Cancer Ecosystem and Vitamin D
The Lustgarten Foundation's board member, Anne Glauber shares a personal journey as it relates to her own treatment of #PancreaticCancer with synthetic vitamin D and the micro-environment of the actual disease.
12.9.15
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Stand Up To Cancer, Cancer Research UK, and The Lustgarten Foundation Fund Team with $12 million
The Stand Up To Cancer – Cancer Research UK –Lustgarten Foundation Dream Team of top cancer researchers from the United States and the United Kingdom was named here today to launch a fresh attack on pancreatic cancer, one of the deadliest forms of cancer on both sides of the Atlantic.
11.6.15
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FDA Approves New Treatment for Advanced Pancreatic Cancer
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Onivyde (irinotecan liposome injection), in combination with fluorouracil and leucovorin, to treat patients with advanced (metastatic) pancreatic cancer who have been previously treated with gemcitabine-based chemotherapy.
10.22.15
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Sharing Pancreatic Cancer Treatment Information - A Lifeline
The Lustgarten Foundation's board member, Anne Glauber shares her own treatment as a lifeline for other patients with Pancreatic Cancer.
09.25.15
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Pancreatic Cancer Deserves Research Investment
In the battle against pancreatic cancer, every bit of medical progress is good news. This is one of the deadliest cancers of all.
08.16.15
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For the Most Lethal Cancer: Find the Best Science
The Lustgarten Foundations’ board member, Anne Glauber explains how living with pancreatic cancer has some blessings, creating a “life of love”, as well as meeting scientists and doctors committed to changing the course of this disease. “Although the past 40 years have given us very few (and no long-term) treatments for pancreatic cancer, there is now new progress from a number of exceptional scientists willing to focus on these challenges.”
07.31.15
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Naperville Pancreatic Cancer Research Walk
The 5th Annual Naperville Pancreatic Cancer Research Walk brought together a community of people joining the fight against the disease.In the past four years, this walk has raised over $166,000 for critically needed research. This year had the most walkers and donations to-date.
07.31.15
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Congress Must Pass 21st Century Cures Act Now
This is an incredibly exciting time in biomedical research[...]At a time of seemingly perennial gridlock in Washington, the U.S. Congress has emerged as a surprising catalyst for such change. A large bipartisan effort over the past year has identified ways to speed the availability of safe and more effective treatments for patients by taking full advantage of the latest science. That is what underpins the 21st Century Cures Act (HR 6) now making its way through Congress.
07.8.15
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Toward Blood-Based Cancer Detection
Dr. Bert Vogelstein, a Lustgarten Foundation Distinguished Scholar and the head of our Early Detection Initiative, is quoted in an article in The Scientist that highlights the future and hope of the “liquid biopsy”, or blood sample, as a means to detect cancer before clinical symptoms occur.
07.7.15
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Tiny Particles in Blood Useful for Early Diagnosis of Pancreatic Cancer
Dr. Raghu Kalluri, a Lustgarten Foundation-funded scientist at MD Anderson Cancer Center, has discovered that a protein called GPC1 is highly expressed on the surface of small, cancer-produced structures called “exosomes”. GPC1-expressing exosomes are released and detectable in the blood, which means they have the potential to become a clinical cancer biomarker.
06.24.15
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Study Identifies Multiple Genetic Changes Linked to Increased Pancreatic Cancer Risk
One of our own Research Investigators, Alison Klein at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, discovered four new genetic variations that may increase the risk for Pancreatic Cancer if it is present in a person's genome, or genetic blueprint.
06.23.15
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PEGPH20 Comibation Doubles PFS in HA-High Pancreatic Cancer
"Recent clinical work by one of our outstanding grantees, Dr. Sunil Hingorani, has shown that, "the addition of the enzyme PEGPH20 to standard nab-paclitaxel and gemcitabine improved progression-free survival (PFS) by 4.9 months compared with the two agents alone in untreated patients with advanced pancreatic cancer with high expression levels of hyaluronan (HA), according to interim findings from a phase II study presented at the 2015 ASCO Annual Meeting."
06.16.15
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Antibody Fragments Expand What PET Imaging Can 'See' In Mice
“Lustgarten-funded researchers Dr. Hidde Ploegh and Dr. Ralph Weissleder have designed a more sensitive and precise imaging technique to detect and monitor pancreatic tumors.
06.3.15
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Small Study Shows Genetic Biomarker May Predict Cancer Patients' Response to Immunotherapy Drug
Research findings published in the New England Journal of Medicine and funded in part by The Lustgarten Foundation show promise leveraging certain immunotherapy drugs for a small subset of pancreatic cancer patients where standard therapies have failed.
05.29.15
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Finding My Treatment For Pancreatic Cancer
The Lustgarten Foundation’s board member, Anne Glauber, explains the innovative treatment she is receiving for her stage IV pancreatic cancer.
05.15.15
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The Next Shock After a Pancreatic Cancer Diagnosis: Where Are the Treatments?
The Lustgarten Foundation's board member, Ann Glauber, is telling her story about being diagnosed with stage IV pancreatic cancer and her frustration with the lack of treatment options available.
05.11.15
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A Walk to Remember: Raising Awareness About Pancreatic Cancer
"Pancreatic cancer was something I knew little about until this "silent killer," as it is known, came into our lives with devastating speed and took someone we loved, so much, away, so quickly."
04.30.15
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Dr. Carl June offers pancreatic cancer patients revolutionary new immunotherapy
With a jointly funded $1.1 million grant provided by the Lustgarten Foundation and the Cancer Research Institute, scientists at the University of Pennsylvania will begin clinical testing of a new form of immunotheraopy, which they anticipate could dramatically improve patient health.
03.31.15
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2015 Ruth Leff Siegel Award
The pancreas Center is announcing a call for nominations for the third annual, 2015 Ruth Leff Siegel Award.
03.26.15
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$12 Million translational research grant announced
Cancer Research UK and The Lustgarten Foundation join with SU2C to fund new Pancreatic Cancer Dream Team.
03.04.15
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New Clinical Trial
New immunotherapy clinical trial begins with support from SU2C and The Lustgarten Foundation Pancreatic Cancer Dream Team.
02.10.15
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Lustgarten foundation Investigators
Multi million dollar grants allow scientists to dedicate more focus to identifying new breakthroughs in pancreatic cancer research and accelerating a path to a cure.
02.06.15
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