Most of a pancreatic tumor is not made up of tumor cells – a double-edged sword for the tumor cells. This connective tissue component impedes blood flow, which is part of what makes pancreatic cancer so drug-resistant. But the lack of blood also means a lack of oxygen and nutrients, so pancreatic tumors must find alternate ways to feed themselves. That’s where nerves come in. In the Nov. 2, 2020, online issue of Cell, researchers published new insights into how innervation feeds tumors, and how to stop them from doing so.
Single-cell genomic analysis has shown that mutations in the KRAS oncogene co-opt a proto-oncogenic enhancer network in inflammation-induced metaplastic progenitor cells, initiating pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma, Chinese researchers reported in the November 3, 2020, edition of Nature Cancer.
One of the reasons that pancreatic cancer remains such a stubbornly dismal disease is that it is extremely desmoplastic. In other words, most of a pancreatic tumor is not made up of tumor cells, but of stroma. Stroma, in turn, is a double-edged sword for the tumor cells. Its connective tissue component impedes blood flow, which is part of what makes pancreatic cancer so drug-resistant. But the lack of blood also means a lack of oxygen and nutrients, so pancreatic tumors must find alternate ways to feed themselves. That’s where nerves come in. In the Nov. 2, 2020, online issue of Cell, researchers published new insights into how innervation feeds tumors, and how to stop them from doing so.
Bluestar Genomics Inc. identified DNA-based epigenomic changes that could be used as new biomarkers that can detect pancreatic cancer before the malignancy, one of the deadliest of all cancers, becomes untreatable. The study was published in Nature Communications.
Pharmacyte Biotech Inc. is now in a series of 30-day cycles with the FDA as a planned phase IIb study of its lead candidate has been placed on hold. On Sept. 2, Pharmacyte submitted its IND for a phase IIb trial of its product, known as Cypcap, in locally advanced, inoperable pancreatic cancer and, on Oct. 2, the company said the FDA placed the application on hold.
BEIJING – CAR T-cell therapeutics developer Carsgen Therapeutics Co. Ltd., of Shanghai, won IND clearance from the FDA for its first-in-class CT-041 for advanced gastric and pancreatic cancers. The company said it is the first claudin18.2 (CLDN18.2)-targeted CAR T-cell therapy cleared for clinical trials in the world.
BEIJING – CAR T-cell therapeutics developer Carsgen Therapeutics Co. Ltd., of Shanghai, won IND clearance from the FDA for its first-in-class CT-041 for advanced gastric and pancreatic cancers. The company said it is the first claudin18.2 (CLDN18.2)-targeted CAR T-cell therapy cleared for clinical trials in the world.
PERTH, Australia – The British Standards Institute (BSI) granted Sydney-based Oncosil Medical Ltd. European CE marking approval for its brachytherapy device to treat locally advanced pancreatic cancer in combination with chemotherapy, clearing the way for marketing in both the EU and the U.K. BSI also granted the Oncosil device breakthrough therapy designation.
Trisalus Life Sciences Inc., of Westminster, Colo., reported the start of a clinical trial assessing a treatment that combines its intravascular, tumor-directed proprietary Pressure-Enabled Drug Delivery (PEDD) approach with standard-of-care systemic chemotherapy.
HONG KONG – Israel-based Biolinerx Ltd. has unveiled the latest data from its ongoing phase IIa COMBAT/KEYNOTE-202 study at the European Society of Medical Oncology Immuno-Oncology Congress 2019 which evaluates Biolinerx’s BL-8040, an inhibitor of the chemokine receptor CXCR4.
