Advancing pancreatic cancer research and care

Pancreatic cancer is an extremely challenging cancer to treat, in part due to symptoms often going undetected until the cancer is in its advanced stages. The American Cancer Society estimates that more than 57,000 people in the United States will be diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2020, and the disease will cause more than 47,000 deaths. The incidence of pancreatic cancer has been increasing between 2007 and 2016, the latest period for which data are available.

Fortunately, laboratory and clinical studies being conducted at the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center and across the country are focused on generating insights on the causes of the disease, creating novel treatments and improving outcomes.

Here is some information on pancreatic cancer research underway at UNC Lineberger, as well as recent honors and awards, and a pancreatic cancer survivor’s perspective on her cancer journey.

Pancreatic Cancer Research

Yeh, Lipner lead study in JCI Insight

Jen Jen Yeh, MD, and Matthew Lipner reported in the journal JCI Insight they have discovered a potential treatment strategy to reduce resistance to a chemotherapy combination used to treat pancreatic cancer.

Researchers use innovative ideas to help fight pancreatic cancer

Yuliya Pylayeva-Gupta, PhD, and Paul Dayton, PhD, are studying whether they can use tiny, engineered microbubbles and ultrasound imaging to improve the activation of the immune system against pancreatic cancer, one of the deadliest cancers.

Researchers find out what’s keeping cancer-killing T-cells away from pancreatic cancer tumors

Researchers led by Yuliya Pylayeva-Gupta, PhD, have identified the culprit that keeps cancer-killing immune cells from reaching pancreatic cancer tumors. Their findings were published in the journal Cancer Immunology Research.

Pancreatic cancer tumor classification could optimize treatment choices

In Clinical Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research, Jen Jen Yeh, MD, and Naim Rashid, PhD, reported findings for how two subtypes of pancreatic cancer respond to treatments differently. Importantly, they found that one subtype of the disease showed poor responses to common therapies and also had worse survival outcomes.

Researchers find KRAS gene mutation differences have implications for pancreatic cancer treatment

The KRAS gene is commonly mutated in cancer. In the journal Cancer Discovery, researchers led by Channing Der, PhD, and Aaron Hobbs, PhD, reported details of the role of the KRAS G12R mutation in pancreatic cancer, and therapeutic strategies that might work for this mutation type. By studying unique differences in DNA mutations within the same gene, researchers are working to uncover the mutation-specific mechanisms that drive cancerous growth.

Researchers develop method for separating tissue types in tumor samples

A dense web of tissue can surround pancreatic cancer tumors, impeding treatment and sometimes acting as a barrier to the tumor’s spread. Jen Jen Yeh, MD, and colleagues have published a paper in Nature Communications that demonstrates their novel approach to distinguishing cancerous tissue from the surrounding connective tissue and stromal cells as well as from immune cells in the tumor’s environment in order to drive personalized treatment strategies.

Patient Perspective

Pancreatic cancer patient beats the odds to thrive after diagnosis

The care team at UNC Lineberger helped Mary Gillam beat the odds and become a pancreatic cancer survivor. “I truly could not have gotten through this without Chapel Hill’s support,” she said. “The whole team has been outstanding.”

Honors and Awards

Bryant recognized as Forbeck Scholar

Kirsten Bryant, PhD, will attend the Forbeck Forum for a series of talks on “Emerging Strategies to Overcome Heterogeneous Resistance Mechanisms.”

U.S. Army awards grant to Pylayeva-Gupta for study of immune system in pancreatic cancer

The U.S. Army has awarded a $559,799 grant to UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center researcher Yuliya Pylayeva-Gupta, PhD, to investigate the role of the immune system in promoting pancreatic cancer’s spread.

Der named AAAS Fellow

The honor recognizes Der's contributions to cancer research. His lab's recent findings on pancreatic cancer have led to clinical studies of a new treatment.

NCI awards $2.2M to Pylayeva-Gupta to investigate immune responses in pancreatic cancer

The National Cancer Institute has awarded a grant for more than $2.2 million across five years to UNC Lineberger’s Yuliya Pylayeva-Gupta, PhD, to support her research into the immune response in pancreatic cancer, one of the deadliest cancers.

Clinical Trials

View pancreatic cancer clinical trials at UNC Lineberger