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Compared to other cancers, pancreatic cancer is relatively rare. However, it is the third leading cause of cancer death in the United States. Only about 12% of all patients with pancreatic cancer are alive five years after their diagnosis. This is one of the lowest survival rates for any kind of cancer.
Three Challenges to Treating Pancreatic Cancer
“There are three main reasons pancreatic cancer is so deadly,” explains Conan Kinsey, MD, PhD, a physician-scientist who treats patients with pancreatic cancer at Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah. “First, it’s most often diagnosed late.”
The earlier pancreatic cancer is caught, the better a person’s chance of survival. But most patients don’t have symptoms of pancreatic cancer in early stages. Only 10-15% of patients are diagnosed when cancer is just in the pancreas and may be removed by surgery. It is often discovered after the cancer has spread, when patients have symptoms such as jaundice, pain, and weight loss. Currently, there is no way to screen for pancreatic cancer.
The pancreas is also located in what Kinsey calls “high-price real estate,” or an important part of the body. The pancreas is surrounded by several major blood vessels, which can make surgery tricky. The main parts of the gut are in that area as well.
Finally, pancreatic cancer is highly likely to spread to other parts of the body, or metastasize. “About 80% of patients already have metastatic cancer when they are diagnosed, so we’re not able to do surgery,” Kinsey says. “Most patients will need chemotherapy to treat their disease.”
Research Offers New Hope for Pancreatic Cancer Patients
Thanks to federally and donor-funded research, Huntsman Cancer Institute is providing hope for patients with pancreatic cancer. Kinsey says researchers are working to better understand how pancreatic cancer grows and spreads. They are also looking for better ways to screen for pancreatic cancer, so it can be found earlier. Clinical trials at Huntsman Cancer Institute and other medical centers are testing new ways to treat the disease, such as new RAS inhibitors, creating hope for a future in which pancreatic cancer is no longer the lethal disease it is today.
The critical research happening every day at Huntsman Cancer Institute is supported by the National Institutes of Health/National Cancer Institute, including cancer center support grant P30 CA042014, as well as Huntsman Cancer Foundation.