Scientists Report Impressive Results for Pancreatic Cancer Vaccine

According to the American Cancer Society, the five-year survival rate for pancreatic cancer is only 13%, making it the deadliest type of cancer. It typically causes no symptoms until it has metastasized. Surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy can prolong survival but rarely lead to a cure, reports Medical Xpress.

Currently, researchers from Case Western Reserve University and the Cleveland Clinic are developing vaccines for pancreatic cancer that could potentially eliminate the disease, freeing patients from cancer.

So far, the vaccines have shown impressive results in preclinical models.

Biomedical engineer Zheng-Rong Lu expressed his excitement about the preclinical study results for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), the most common form of the disease.

More than half of the test subjects were completely cancer-free after several months—a result he says he has never seen before.

Lu, together with immunologist Lili Wang, an adjunct professor of molecular medicine at the Case Western Reserve School of Medicine, developed vaccine nanoparticles containing antigen markers that help the immune system recognize harmful elements in the body. The vaccines they developed provide anti-cancer immunity.

“This platform has the potential to transform clinical care for this devastating disease. I’m thrilled to see our new nanovaccine perform so well, eliciting an active T-cell response targeted at the tumor—T-cells that are typically scarce and ineffective at controlling tumor growth,” Wang said.

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