Breakthrough in fight against world's deadliest cancer - new drug shrunk up to ... trends now
An experimental drug for aggressive, deadly pancreatic cancer effectively shrunk nearly all tumors tested, a new lab study found.
The researchers testing the novel treatment declared it the most effective studied thus far - shrinking tumors in peti dishes by between 30 and 98 percent.
Pancreatic cancer affects roughly 67,000 Americans every year, and kills about 52,000 of them.
It is typically rapidly progressive, and considered one of the most sinister forms of the disease that has taken the lives of high profile patients such as Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Patrick Swayze, Alan Rickman and Steve Jobs.
Currently, treatments like surgery, chemotherapy and immunotherapy drugs which aim to cure the disease are often unsuccesful, as it is usually diagnosed at late stages.
Harry Potter star Alan Rickman died at 69 of pancreatic cancer in 2016. His battle against the aggressive cancer was brief
Former Apple CEO Steve Jobs battled pancreatic cancer for a decade, but he made no public statements about his illness and was determined to remain at work for as long as he could
The latest experimental drug successfully interfered with genetic drivers of roughly 95 percent of the most common form of pancreatic cancers - pancreatic ductal adenocarcinomas.
A gene called KRAS plays a crucial role in cell division, proliferation, and death.
When the gene is mutated, it stimulates the uncontrollable growth of cells, a hallmark of cancer.
Dr Kenneth Olive, a physician at Columbia University who led the research at his lab, said: ‘For over four decades, we have known that there’s one particular RAS protein, called KRAS, that’s mutated and drives about 95 percent of all pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma cases, and we’ve had no direct tools to attack it for most of that time.’
The mutated gene helps transform normal pancreatic cells into cancerous cells, which promotes the growth of treatment-resistant tumors that respond poorly to chemotherapy.
The researchers tested the drug on cancer cells derived from humans and found that tumor shrinkage was seen in seven out of 10 models, with the extent of shrinkage ranging from 30 percent to 98
