Winter Garden Magazine November 2018 | Page 28

Making An Impact
Pancreatic Cancer Action Network Research Grants
What research
have we
advanced?
How is my
fundraising making
a difference?
The pancreatic cancer
mouse model used today
David Tuveson, MD, PhD and
Sunil Hingorani, MD, PhD
2003 & 2005 Career Development Awards
Pre-clinical Research
Our grant supported the development of the first
genetically-engineered mouse model that accurately
mimics human disease progression. The mice are
genetically programmed to develop pancreatic cancer
that starts with precancerous abnormalities and
progresses to invasive and then metastatic disease.
Additionally, the mouse model’s pancreatic tumors are
surrounded by a dense shell that mimics the complex
and challenging tumor microenvironment (stroma) in
human disease. To this day, this continues to be the
mouse model used in labs around the world to advance
better treatments for patients facing pancreatic cancer.
"One-two punch"
combination therapy
David Boothman, PhD
2012, 2014, 2015 grants
New Treatment
We supported the development of a “one-two punch”
combination therapy to knock out cancer. This
dual-action therapy first tricks pancreatic cancer cells
into poisoning themselves and then stops the cells
from repairing the poison’s damage. The novel
combination treatment will enter clinical trials in 2017.
This represents the “translational” research that our
grants help to accelerate, moving vital work from the lab
to the clinic to reach patients.
The Pancreatic Cancer
Action Network has supported tens
of millions of dollars in research
grants to advance science and
medicine and improve outcomes
for patients. Here are a few
examples of our impact!
Studying how a new
immunotherapy works
in each patient
David Linehan, MD and
Brian Wolpin, MD, MPH
2016 Research Acceleration Network-2
New Treatment
Thanks to the generosity of donors, we awarded our
largest-ever grant of $2 million in 2016 to accelerate a
large-scale clinical trial bringing a new immunotherapy
to patients with pancreatic cancer. This novel treatment
approach aims to block pancreatic cancer cells’ ability
to hide from the patient’s immune system, so that the
immune system can do its job of attacking and killing
the cancer.
A continuation of promising research from Dr. Linehan’s
2015 Translational Research Grant, also funded by the
Pancreatic Cancer Action Network, this major clinical
trial is a multi-institutional collaboration between two
researchers, Drs. Linehan (at University of Rochester)
and Wolpin (at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute), who both
bring unique expertise to the project. Dr. Linehan’s team
is conducting the large-scale clinical trial, while Dr.
Wolpin’s team is simultaneously collecting and
analyzing blood, bone marrow and tissue biopsies from
patients at various stages of the disease and treatment
– allowing the investigators to gain important
knowledge from each and every patient treated with
their regimen. Ideally, knowledge gained will help
improve the treatment’s effectiveness and help identify
which patients are most likely to respond positively, so
that this targeted treatment can reach the patients who
would benefit the most.
©Pancreatic Cancer Action Network 2017 Updated 4/17
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WINTER GARDEN MAGAZINE
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NOVEMBER 2018