Olivia Newton-John’s final gift to the world: The late star’s lab finds major breakthrough in pancreatic cancer treatment
A cancer research charity founded by the late Olivia Newton-John has made an important discovery in the treatment of pancreatic cancer.
Professor Matthias Ernst, director of the Melbourne-based ONJ Cancer Institute and director of La Trobe’s School of Cancer Medicine, offers a solution to the challenges of treating one of the most aggressive forms of cancer. led a study to suggest a policy.
The study, published Wednesday in the scientific journal Cell Reports, suggests that new drug targets could improve the response of pancreatic tumors to immunotherapy.
A cancer research charity founded by the late Olivia Newton-John (pictured) has made an important discovery in the treatment of pancreatic cancer
Professor Ernst warned that the research is still in its early stages and requires many more years of research before proceeding to human clinical trials.
However, he is hopeful that the ONJ Institute will be able to push its findings toward future clinical trials, and says the study has “strong rationale” for continued development.
“We work in the same building as our oncologist colleagues at Austin Health, so our findings in the lab can be quickly translated into patient trials,” he said.
Professor Matthias Ernst, director of the Melbourne-based ONJ Cancer Institute and director of La Trobe’s School of Cancer Medicine, offers a solution to the challenges of treating one of the most aggressive forms of cancer. led a study to suggest a policy. (Newton-John is pictured with her husband John Easterling and her daughter Chloe Rattanzi)
Professor Ernst’s research shows that inhibition of hematopoietic cell kinase (HCK), a protein found on one type of immune cell, improves pancreatic cancer response to immunotherapy in preclinical models.
The drug is also theoretically proven to limit the process of metastasis and reduce the spread of cancer cells to other areas of the body.
Another member of the research team, Ashleigh Poh, Ph.D., a postdoctoral fellow at the ONJ Institute, said this is because most patients suffering from pancreatic cancer treatment do not respond to existing anticancer drugs. He said it could have big implications for the treatment of cancer.
“Pacreatic cancer survival has not improved over the last several decades,” Dr. Poe said.
“Ultimately, we hope to translate these findings into the clinic to improve survival outcomes for patients with pancreatic cancer.”
The pancreas is an organ behind the lower part of the stomach that helps digest and metabolize sugars.
Pancreatic cancer is almost completely refractory to current immunotherapies that reactivate the immune system so that it can recognize and eliminate cancer cells.
It is asymptomatic in its early stages, spreads rapidly throughout the body, and has other treatments, including surgical removal of the pancreas, radiation, or chemotherapy.
About 4,260 new cases are diagnosed in Australia each year, with a low survival rate of 11% five years after diagnosis.
The study, published Wednesday in the scientific journal Cell Reports, suggests that new drug targets could improve the response of pancreatic tumors to immunotherapy. pictured here)
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