Cure for Pancreatic Cancer? Spanish Scientists' Claim Ignites Global Hope and Debate
A Spanish research team has claimed to have developed a treatment that completely eliminates the most aggressive form of pancreatic cancer in laboratory mice, raising fresh hopes against one of the deadliest cancers. Pancreatic cancer is often diagnosed late and is completely resistant to most existing treatments in later stages.
So, when Dr Mariano Barbacid claimed to have discovered a potential "cure," it sent ripples of hope across the global medical community and sparked intense scientific debate. The claim, made by the Spanish National Cancer Research Centre, working on an experimental therapy targeting the tumour cells, suggests that their approach could stop cancer growth and, in some cases, completely eliminate malignant cells in laboratory and early animal studies.
The CNIO therapy is an amalgamation of three drugs that are designed to shut down multiple tumour survival mechanisms simultaneously. According to the researchers, this strategy prevents cancer cells from rewiring themselves, a common cause of treatment failure. Dr Barbacid has previously argued that pancreatic cancer cannot be defeated with a single-drug strategy.
Given pancreatic cancer's grim statistics - five-year survival rates hovering around 10 per cent - the announcement has quickly drawn global attention.
[...] Preliminary reports say Dr Barbacid and his research team have developed a therapy that is able to disrupt the protective tumour environment, along with triggering cancer cells' death. The approach reportedly combines molecular targeting with immune system activation, which makes the tumours extremely vulnerable to treatment.
In the laboratory, according to the researchers, the therapy has been able to stop tumour progression and, in some models, even eradicate cancer cells entirely. These findings are yet to be validated in humans and could represent a major breakthrough.
However, the work is still in early stages, as many of the results so far come from preclinical studies, not large-scale human trials.
Even though the news has spread viral, cancer researchers are urging restraint, as there have been many promising cancer breakthroughs in the past which showed remarkable results in the lab but could not bring in any real-world benefits for patients in the real world.
Scientists feel that what works in animal models may not necessarily always work in humans. Also, reproducibility is another concern, as independent verification by other research groups, peer-reviewed publication, and rigorous clinical trials are essential before any treatment can be considered a true cure.
Pancreatic Cancer, an Announcement From Spain: "Tumor Eliminated in Mice"
Pancreatic cancer, an announcement from Spain: "Tumor eliminated in mice":
New hope for pancreatic cancer research comes from Spain: Mariano Barbacid, director of the Experimental Oncology group at the Spanish National Cancer Research Center (CNIO), has announced the results of a mouse study demonstrating the elimination of cancer cells from the most common and devastating type of pancreatic cancer, pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC).
The research revealed a significant reduction in side effects from the therapy, which achieved a previously unseen duration of tumor cell elimination. "For the first time," Barbacid explained, "we have achieved a complete, durable, and low-toxicity response against pancreatic cancer in experimental models. These results indicate that the combination therapy strategy can change the course of this tumor." The oncologist presented the findings together with the study's co-author, Carmen Guerra, and the first authors, Vasiliki Liaki and Sara Barrambana, during a press conference. The study was published in PNAS (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences).
The key to the treatment used in the study is a combination of three drugs that target the fundamental mechanisms that allow tumor cells to grow: two targeting EGFR and STAT3, key proteins in pancreatic cancer, and one targeting the KRAS oncogene, the main driver of this tumor. Regarding next steps, Barbacid specified: "It's important to understand that, although experimental results like those described here have never been obtained before, we are not yet able to conduct clinical trials with triple therapy."
Journal Reference: https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2523039122
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday February 04, @06:26PM
Good news. Considering that people are living longer and the longer you live the greater the chance you'll eventually get cancer.
(Score: 1) by shrewdsheep on Wednesday February 04, @06:31PM
...to good to be true. I did not read TFA but this seems to be asking for reproduction first. Second, there is unfortunately a long way to go from mice to humans. I would be very surprised to see drug combination therapy with each component acting as an inhibitor only (rather than being cytotoxic) could lead to a cure without terrible side effects. Still, if it translates to at least improved survival that would be progress.
(Score: 1) by Runaway1956 on Wednesday February 04, @10:25PM (2 children)
Maybe one day, they'll get around to humans.
I'm going to buy my defensive radar from Temu, just like Venezuela!
(Score: 2) by Bentonite on Thursday February 05, @04:51AM (1 child)
Too bad every last mice gets euthanized in the end, even if it was cured.
(Score: 1) by Runaway1956 on Thursday February 05, @12:46PM
So, we don't WANT them to save us then?
I'm going to buy my defensive radar from Temu, just like Venezuela!