Major breakthrough! Scientists eradicate pancreatic cancer in mice
What's the story
A team of scientists from the Spanish National Cancer Research Center (CNIO) has made a major breakthrough in the fight against pancreatic cancer. The group, led by renowned researcher Dr. Mariano Barbacid, has developed a targeted therapy that completely eliminated tumors in mice models of this aggressive disease. The study was published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).
Treatment details
New therapy shows promise against aggressive pancreatic cancer
The new treatment is a carefully designed triple-drug therapy that targets the KRAS oncogene pathway, which is responsible for more than 90% of pancreatic cancers. The therapy works by blocking the main KRAS growth signal and shutting down EGFR and HER2 pathways, which tumors often use as escape routes. It also disables STAT3, a stress-response system that helps tumor cells survive treatment.
Safety profile
Therapy shows low toxicity in animal models
Unlike traditional chemotherapy, which often comes with severe side effects, this triple-drug combination showed low toxicity in animals. The mice tolerated the treatment well, a crucial factor if the therapy is ever to move into human trials. However, it's important to note that this study demonstrates a potential cure in experimental models and not yet in humans.
Clinical trials
Next steps and future prospects
The next steps for this promising therapy include further validation, safety studies, and early-phase human clinical trials, pending regulatory approvals and funding. However, it's worth noting that this process could take years. Despite the long road ahead, experts believe these results are compelling enough to warrant further investigation into carefully designed human studies as a possible treatment for pancreatic cancer.