$3 Million National Grant to Fund Pancreatic Cancer Study
Academic and industry partnership to investigate new approach to treating lethal pancreatic cancer.
The team will develop a treatment based on the novel chemotherapy TGX-1214, in combination with
PDAC accounts for more than 90% of pancreatic cancer cases. It is usually diagnosed at a late stage when disease has spread to other organs. Symptoms are often common and non-specific, such as lack of appetite and weight loss. By the time symptoms appear, the disease is at a late stage, making it inoperable and incurable.
Current challenges treating pancreatic cancer
“Surgery, which offers the only realistic hope for a cure, is a viable option in only a limited number of patients, and current chemotherapy and radiation therapy offer limited or no benefit at all,” UC Davis pancreatic cancer researcher
Mackenzie is an associate professor in the
“The current chemotherapy combinations used to treat PDAC have marginally improved survival outcomes. The average survival in advanced disease is still less than a year. The limited benefit of these therapies, unfortunately, comes at the cost of significant toxicities, including suppressed immune system, fatigue, nausea, diarrhea, and nerve damage, limiting their use to patients with relatively preserved function,” Kim said, “And most patients still ultimately relapse and progress.”
In addition, studies show that new immuno-oncology agents, such as anti-
“That’s why there is a critical unmet need to develop better therapeutic options for aggressive and
Promising TGX-1214 combination strategy for the treatment of advanced pancreatic cancer
The team will leverage the multi-disciplinary expertise of scientists and clinicians to develop an effective treatment based on the combination of TGX-1214 and
Previous studies indicate that TGX-1214 is safe and effective in multiple animal studies. In preliminary studies, TGX-1214 strongly inhibited pancreatic cancer growth, with complete tumor regression in two pre-clinical models of pancreatic cancer.
The long-term goal of the research is to develop safe and effective treatment strategies for PDAC to test in clinical trials that will become available for patients.
SOURCE: UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center
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