Experts find that cancerous tumors of the pancreas may respond to a combination of immunotherapy

According to the Irish Cancer Society, pancreatic cancer develops when abnormal cells in the pancreas grow out of control, forming a tumour, with more than 600 people diagnosed each year in the country.

About nine out of 10 patients will have adenocarcinoma, the most common form of the disease.

It is considered to be one of the most serious forms of cancer, with very few symptoms initially, which means it is often very advanced once diagnosed. The prognosis is poor for most patients.

Pancreatic cancer sufferers include legendary opera singer Luciano Pavarotti, British actor Alan Rickman and Hollywood star Patrick Swayze.

In recent days, former Glasgow Celtic striker Frank McGarvey died shortly after announcing he had pancreatic cancer, while Italian footballing great Gianluca Vialli is currently receiving treatment for the disease for the second time.

Apple founder Steve Jobs suffered from a rarer form of pancreatic cancer than the more common adenocarcinoma.

Immunotherapies

Researchers from the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center announced that they had discovered a new combination of immunotherapies that showed promising results in their study.

His triple-combination immunotherapy approach targeted checkpoints in both T cells and myeloid suppressor cells.

Corresponding author and Professor of Cancer Biology Ronald DePinho said: “This triple combination therapy has led to an unprecedented curative response in our models. The prevailing view is that pancreatic cancer is impervious to immunotherapy , but this preclinical study shows that it may be vulnerable to the right therapeutic combination.

“Furthermore, the presence of these targets in human pancreatic cancer samples raises the exciting possibility that such therapeutic combinations may one day help our patients.”

Tumor regression

Targeting three types of cells and proteins resulted in complete tumor regression and improved overall survival in 90% of preclinical models, and in a more rigorous laboratory model that develops multiple spontaneous tumors with treatment resistance higher, the combination allowed complete regression of the tumor in more than 20% of cases, according to the researchers.

Mr. DePinho added: “These are encouraging results, especially given the lack of effective immunotherapy options in pancreatic cancer. We are optimistic that pancreatic cancers, and hopefully d other non-immunogenic cancers may ultimately be rendered vulnerable to combination immunotherapy.”