News: Pancreatic Cancer

Inflammation synergizes with a cell’s intrinsic genetic program to promote the development of pancreatic cancer.

A clinical study of a drug that may block cancer metastasis is currently enrolling patients at the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center.

A prospective study by Wei Zheng, Ph.D., M.D., and colleagues delivers the first direct epidemiological evidence that increased production of a chemical compound called prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), as measured by metabolites in urine (PGE-M), is associated with increased pancreatic cancer risk.

Pancreatic ductal carcinoma (PDAC) is one of the most lethal types of cancer, with new therapeutic options needed. Sergey Novitskiy, M.D., Ph.D., and colleagues investigated the immune response during the development of aggressive PDAC in an animal model of the disease.

Multiple endocrine neoplasia (MEN) Type I and Type II, disorders that affect the endocrine system, will be discussed at a free seminar sponsored by Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) and American Multiple Endocrine Neoplasia Support (AMENSupport) on Saturday, Feb. 4. The program is designed to educate patients, family members and medical personnel and to provide […]

Metastatic pancreatic cancer — cancer that has spread from the pancreas to other tissues and is responsible for most patient deaths — changes its metabolism and is “reprogrammed” for optimal malignancy, according to new findings reported Jan. 16 in Nature Genetics. It may be possible to reverse the malignant reprogramming to treat metastatic pancreatic cancer, […]

A multicenter study led by Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) investigators found that pancreatic cancer patients who underwent surgery and received chemotherapy lived longer and had fewer cancer recurrences in other parts of the body than patients who also received chemoradiation therapy. The study led by Alexander Parikh, M.D., MPH, associate professor of Surgery and […]

The incidence of pancreatic and small intestinal neuroendocrine tumors (NETs) has risen over the past decade. NETs are the second most common cancers in the small intestine and pancreas and are frequently associated with liver metastasis. Safia Salaria, M.D., and colleagues examined expression of CD24 – a biomarker for normal and cancer stem cells – […]

Patients and families who want to learn more about treatments and research efforts in pancreatic cancer are invited to attend a free event Thurs., June 18, 6 – 8 p.m., at the Nashville Marriott at Vanderbilt University, 2555 West End Ave. The educational seminar, sponsored by the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network, features a presentation by […]

Researchers at Vanderbilt University have discovered a new way to inhibit Hedgehog (Hh) signaling, an important regulatory pathway for vertebrate development – and cancer. Abnormal regulation of this pathway leads to several human malignancies, including small cell lung cancer and pancreatic cancer, and therefore it is a potential drug target for cancer. Small molecules have […]