Innovative approach to treating pancreatic cancer combines chemotherapy and immuno-therapy

Amrita Krishnakumar
Source: Virginia Commonwealth University
Author: Liza Bishop
Published: November 12, 2014
Link: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/11/141112102646.htm


Summary: 
Over the years many scientists, doctors and researchers have been looking for cures and solutions to fighting cancer. As we know, many types of cancer can be treated and many people have been helped. However, one type of cancer that has a survival rate less than six percent is, pancreatic cancer. It is said to be one of the deadliest of cancers. "Pancreatic cancer is currently the fourth leading cause of cancer death in the US. Developing an effective treatment is a vital step, and immuno-chemotherapy may be the key," said Luni Emdad, member of the Cancer Molecular Genetics research program at VCU Massey, assistant professor in the Department of Human and Molecular Genetics at VCU School of Medicine and member of the VIMM. The reason for the high mortality rate caused by the cancer is the failure to diagnose the disease before spreading to other parts of the body. Chemotherapy and radiation are not strong enough to fight such an aggressive disease, so scientists at VCU Massey Cancer center and VCU Institute of Molecular Medicine have discovered a new way to treat pancreatic cancer using immuno-chemotherapy. Immuno-chemotherapy is a combination of chemotherapy and immunotherapy, which uses the patient's own immune system to help fight the disease. Many scientists including Paul B. Fisher, M.Ph., Ph.D., and Luni Emdad, M.B.B.S., Ph.D., have found that a combination of a molecule polyethlenimine (PEI) and polyinosine-polycytidylic acid (pIC), can help kill cancerous pancreatic cells and leave alone all the normal cells.


Connections:
This article and topic relates to our Molecular Biology unit and our Cells unit. In our discussions and in chapter 12.4 of the textbook, we talked about cells and how mutations in cells can cause the cells to become cancerous. The cancerous cells that are found in pancreatic cancer can be acquired or inherited. Those who have pancreatic cancer, could have cancerous cells replicating in their bodies since it runs in their families. Also, those who acquire the cells could have been exposed to carcinogens, like cigarette smoke. People of Ashkenazi Jewish descent or have the BRCA2, p16, STK11 gene mutation or chronic pancreatitis have a greater risk of developing/producing cancerous cells as well. The problem that most doctors have with identifying pancreatic cancer is that, the symptoms are not defined and could be symptoms of other diseases as well. It has been calculated that ten percent of pancreatic cancers are hereditary. Mainly these mutations can be inherited from a parent. Most individuals that inherit the cancer, inherit one mutant copy from the parent. As time passes, those with the inherited cancer syndrome, will end up damaging the good copy of the gene and as a result the pancreas will grow abnormally. Another scenario involves the DNA being damaged by chance. There is a small percentile chance that when copying the DNA, there are mistakes made and a gene that involve cancer cells are mutated. These two reasons are the main reasons as to why people could have pancreatic cancer.