The IAA One Minute Blog

Pancreatic cancer has been making headlines. Read on to see what researchers have to say about this disease.

Vaccine for Pancreatic Cancer

A pancreatic cancer vaccine has continued to protect a small group of patients from having their cancer come back three years after receiving the shot, a new study says.

Eight patients have not had their pancreatic cancer recur for three years after their immune systems responded to the vaccine, researchers reported.

Even after successful surgery, only about 12 percent of patients are alive five years after diagnosis, according to the American Association of Clinical Oncology.

The mRNA-based vaccine teaches the immune system to identify and attack cancer cells, using 20 unique proteins exclusively present in a patient’s tumor. The vaccine is specially made for each patient, based on the specific mutations found in their cancer.

The research team compared eight patients who responded to the vaccine with eight patients who did not. All had undergone surgery to remove their cancer.

Those who did not respond to the vaccine had an average recurrence-free survival rate of 13 months, results show. But those whose immune systems did learn from the vaccine have remained cancer free for three years, researchers said.

Blood Test for Pancreatic Cancer

A blood test appears capable of detecting early-stage pancreatic cancers with up to 97 percent accuracy, a new study reports.

The test looks for eight small RNA particles and eight larger DNA markers shed by pancreatic cancers which together create a genetic “signature” for the disease, researchers said.

An earlier trial of this blood test in 95 patients from the United States and Japan found a detection rate of 98 percent.

This latest trial involved 523 people with pancreatic cancer and 461 healthy people.

The blood test detected:

• 93 percent of pancreatic cancers among U.S. participants
• 91 percent of pancreatic cancers among South Koreans participants
• 88 percent of pancreatic cancers among Chinese participants

Pancreatic cancer often does not cause symptoms until the disease is advanced.

What IAA has to Say

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