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Highest mortality rate -

Pancreatic cancer has the highest mortality rate of all cancers. Its five-year survival rate is only 13%. In the United Kingdom, pancreatic cancer is responsible for over 5% of all cancer deaths.

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Leading cause of cancer deaths -

In the United States, pancreatic cancer is one of the leading causes of cancer-related deaths in the country, with numbers set to increase.

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Symptoms appear late -

The issue with pancreatic conditions is that, often, symptoms only become apparent once the cancer has developed to a more grave stage or has even spread to other parts of the body.

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Lowest survival rate -

With the lowest survival rate of all cancers, it’s also the 12^th most common cancer in the world. Life expectancy following diagnosis is one year for nearly 75% of patients.

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World population rate -

Approximately 2% of the world population will, at one point in their lives, be diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.

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Development -

Pancreatic cancer develops when the cells in the pancreas begin to “grow uncontrollably,” according to the organization City of Hope.

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Risk factors -

The biggest risks to developing pancreatic cancer are smoking, obesity, chronic pancreatitis, diabetes, and long-term chemical exposure. The risk of developing pancreatic cancer increases with age. Nearly all documented cases are reported in those over 45.

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Race and gender -

There is also a link to race and gender. Those of African heritage and men have a greater risk of developing the cancer in their lives.

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Major health issue -

It’s clear that pancreatic cancer is a major health issue that is effecting people worldwide in a grave manner and will likely impact us or someone we know within our lifetime.

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Clinical trial -

A recent clinical trial at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center is offering hope to those suffering from the disease.

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Possible treatment -

Dr. Vinod Balachandran, a surgical oncologist at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, ran a clinical trial that demonstrates a possible treatment option that could save millions of people.

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Standard combination -

The clinical trial is a combination of surgical intervention with chemotherapy treatments. This is often a standard combination for many cancer patients.

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mRNA vaccine -

The innovative treatment method includes an mRNA vaccine that is customized to each individual patient’s condition.

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Vaccine design -

Taking into account a patient’s tumor, the vaccine is designed in such a way that pushes the patient’s immune system to “attack the cancer.”

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Long-term survivors -

The design of the clinical trial emerged from a group of long-term pancreatic cancer survivors, which consisted of a small group, as only 10% of all pancreatic cancer patients survive for more than five years.

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Immune system -

Research conducted on survivors found a common thread. Several studies demonstrated that survivors immune systems may hold the key to their survival.

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Recognize 'threat' of cancer -

It seems that these patients’ immune systems were essentially able to recognize the ‘threat’ of cancer in the body and react, in what doctors deem a “spontaneous immune response.”

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Immune system challenges -

Doctors say that this is atypical, as the immune system isn’t designed to “recognize our own body,” which makes it challenging for the immune system to recognize cancer.

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Self-recognition -

This foundational knowledge is what built the idea of the clinical trial. Scientists hope that they can force other patients’ immune systems to engage in this kind of self-recognition.

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Replicating process -

While this process occurs naturally for long-term survivors, for those who are not experiencing this naturally, the scientists behind the clinical trial are using the mRNA vaccine to do so.

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Phase one -

The first phase of the clinical trial includes those with early-stage pancreatic cancer. This means that all of these participants only have localized cancer (limited to the pancreas) and the tumor must be removable through surgical intervention.

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Only 25% of all patients -

This stage of pancreatic cancer and these conditions (operational and limited to the organ) occur in only up to a quarter of all pancreatic cancer patients.

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BioNTech -

Patients’ tumors were removed and then sent to BioNTech, one of Sloan-Kettering’s research partners for the study.

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Manufacturing vaccine -

BioNTech then took the tumor to make the mRNA vaccine. The vaccine was provided to the patient alongside a period of immunotherapy and chemotherapy.

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Targets genetic mutations -

Essentially, the vaccine targets any mutations produced by the cancer. When cancer cells divide, they create a series of “genetic errors.”

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Red flags -

These mutations are flashing warning lights to the body’s immune system. This alerts the immune system to the cancer cells and recognizes them.

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Half with strong response -

This first phase of the clinical trial had a modest 16 patients. Of those 16 patients, half had reportedly “strong immune responses.”

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None with reoccuring disease -

Interestingly, of those eight people, none had reoccurring disease within the first 18 months post-treatment. This is in comparison to the average patient who undergoes only chemotherapy and surgery and often sees their cancer reappear within a year’s time.

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Development three years later -

Over three years after the treatment, only two of the eight patients who had a strong immune response saw their cancer return. Meanwhile, seven of the remaining patients who did not experience a strong immune response had their cancer return within that period.

Sources: (CBS News) (National Cancer Institute) (Bloomberg) (Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center) (Pancreatic Cancer Action Network) (City of Hope)

See also: What is type 3c diabetes?

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