Tumors have a lower interstitial pH compared to healthy tissues, with tumor acidity having emerged as a driver of tumor progression as it can lead to tumor immune evasion. Solute carrier family 4 member 4 (SLC4A4), which encodes a sodium bicarbonate cotransporter involved in pH regulation and homeostasis in normal tissue, was the focus of studies in pancreatic cancer resistance in in vivo preclinical models. Researchers tested the impact of Slc4a4 deletion in cancer cells on tumor growth, anticancer immunity and response to immunotherapy in murine models of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC).
Biomea Fusion Inc. has received IND clearance from the FDA to begin a phase I/Ib trial of BMF-219, a selective, covalent menin inhibitor in patients with unresectable, locally advanced, or metastatic non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), colorectal cancer, or pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma with an activating KRAS mutation.
For people with the grim diagnosis of pancreatic cancer, the news may have gotten just a shade brighter. Researchers at the Mayo Clinic Comprehensive Cancer Center found that using 18-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) tracer with positron emission tomography (PET) provides a preoperative predictor of tumor response to chemotherapy and survival in patients with borderline resectable or locally advanced pancreatic cancer. The finding could change recommended practice for one of the deadliest forms of cancer and improve outcomes for patients.
Biological Dynamics Inc.’s Verita platform correctly identified 96% of patients with stage I pancreatic cancer, a study in Nature Communications Medicine demonstrated. The platform uses protein biomarkers present in extracellular vesicles and showed an overall 71% sensitivity and 99.5% specificity in pathologically confirmed stage I and II pancreatic, ovarian and bladder cancer.
Pretreatment with an experimental focal adhesion kinase inhibitor has been shown to improve chemotherapeutic efficiency and reduce metastasis in preclinical mouse and patient-derived models of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), with this priming regimen soon to enter phase II trials for PDAC using a novel, clinically relevant FAK inhibitor.
Two recent studies have independently identified macropinocytosis, a nutrient procurement pathway whereby cancer cells take up extracellular fluid droplets containing proteins and other macromolecules, as a promising new therapeutic target for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC).
Panbela Therapeutics Inc. hit a speed bump with its phase I trial in the ever-challenging indication of pancreatic cancer (PC), as an independent data safety monitoring board (DSMB) recommended that dosing be held for patients until more safety information is available about polyamine analog SBP-101.
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.
