Health News

Mutation mechanism discovered for neuroendocrine pancreatic cancer

Although neuroendocrine tumors of the pancreas are rare, the available treatment options are currently limited. Researchers have now managed to identify the mutation mechanism, namely a mutation on the gene that activates the telomerase enzyme TERT, and this will potentially give rise to new treatment options. This discovery could lead to a more targeted treatment […]

Health Problems

Exposing how pancreatic cancer does its dirty work

Pancreatic cancer is one of the most insidious forms of the disease, in which an average of only 9% of patients are alive five years after diagnosis. One of the reasons for such a dismal outcome is that pancreatic cancer cells are able to escape from tumors and enter the bloodstream very early in the […]

Health News

Chemo ‘Cocktail’ Embraced as Pancreatic Cancer Breakthrough

WEDNESDAY, Dec. 19, 2018 — When researchers announced that a four-drug chemotherapy regimen can add years to the lives of some patients with earlier-stage pancreatic cancer, doctors didn’t wait. Trial results were released last spring, and were immediately “practice-changing,” said Dr. Hedy Kindler, an oncologist at the University of Chicago who was not involved in […]

Health Problems

New tumor model helps researchers treat pancreatic cancer

Patients diagnosed with pancreatic cancer face a poor prognosis because the tumor forms dense scar-like tissue that is difficult for chemotherapy drugs to penetrate, but a new model may help researchers develop new therapies. “More than 85 percent of pancreatic tumors form this fibrous tissue,” explained Assistant Professor Joshua Reineke of the South Dakota State […]

Health News

Pancreatic cancer: Cannabis compound may boost survival

According to data from the National Cancer Institute (NCI), in the United States, there will be an estimated 55,440 new cases of pancreatic cancer by the end of this year. Treatments for this type of cancer include surgical resection (the removal of tissue affected by the cancer), as well as chemotherapy. Unfortunately, the prognosis tends […]