Targeting Cell Cycle Alterations to Overcome Resistance to FOLFIRINOX for Pancreatic Cancer

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Targeting Cell Cycle Alterations to Overcome Resistance to FOLFIRINOX for Pancreatic Cancer

Dr. E. Ramsey Camp and Dr. Hyun-Sung Lee

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is among the leading causes of cancer death in the United States. It has a dismal overall five-year survival rate of less than 10 percent.  Typically discovered in later stages after the aggressive cancer has grown and spread, there is little that can be done. Chemotherapy and immunotherapy have been largely ineffective intreating the disease. Patients desperately need new strategies that can extend their lives.

Cancer thrives in a bad neighborhood.  Known as the tumor microenvironment, this neighborhood consists of the tumor, normal cells, blood vessels and surrounding tissues that make the area inhospitable to the body’s immune system.  Drs. Camp and Lee are trying to improve outcomes for patients with pancreatic cancer by cleaning up the neighborhood.   They are figuring out if the loss of a specific gene is to blame for creating this bad neighborhood by driving helpful immune cells out of the vicinity. The good news is that a drug, FOLIRINOX, already exists that can help clean up the tumor microenvironment. The hope is that coupling the drug with either chemotherapy or immunotherapy will drive out this cancerous bad element and be key in helping pancreatic cancer patients live longer.