Pancreatic cancer remains one of the most lethal malignancies, with nearly 90 percent of patients dying within five years of diagnosis due to late detection and limited treatment options. However, new research from Spain is offering cautious optimism.
Scientists at the Spanish National Cancer Research Centre (CNIO) have designed an experimental combination therapy that successfully eliminated pancreatic tumours in mouse models without significant side effects. The study, published in the journalProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), combines multiple immunotherapy approaches, including a cancer vaccine with immune-boosting adjuvants and checkpoint inhibitors.
The therapy targets the cancer’s natural resistance mechanisms by blocking the KRAS oncogene at three different points in its signalling pathway. KRAS mutations are present in nearly 90 percent of pancreatic cancer cases and are a major reason why existing treatments often fail. By attacking the pathway at multiple levels, researchers were able to prevent tumours from developing resistance and eliminate them permanently in mice.
The findings come shortly after encouraging results from an early human trial of a personalised mRNA pancreatic cancer vaccine in the United States, further strengthening interest in combination and vaccine-driven therapies. While the Spanish research is still far from human clinical trials, experts believe it represents an important step toward improving survival outcomes for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma, the most common form of the disease.
