MIAMI – A team of investigators at Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center are targeting treatment-resistant pancreatic cancer.
Dr. Nipun Merchant, a senior author of a recently published study, said that they’ve shown that a combination of targeted therapies and immunotherapy is promising in addressing this deadly disease.
The researchers focused on gene mutations that make pancreatic cancer resistant to treatment and attacking tumor-promoting cells.
“This is in prime time in the sense that we are now moving these findings that we have in the laboratory into clinical trials in patients which we’ve already opened up. We’ve already treated one patient with this who was refractory to every type of chemotherapy, was resistant (and) was progressing on his cancer. We started him on this therapy and he’s responding,” Merchant said.
As part of the ongoing clinical trial, he said patients’ tumors will be biopsied before and after treatment to better understand why some respond better than others to the therapy.
In other health news, a new systemic review and meta-analysis have found a higher Vitamin D intake by individuals with pre-diabetes was associated with a 15 percent reduced risk of developing type two diabetes but according to a separate study, the reduction of risk was not as great as the reduction achieved by making intensive lifestyle modifications.
And a study released this week suggests eating added sugar, or so-called ‘free sugar’, could increase your risk of cardiovascular disease.
Researchers look at the diet and health data from more than 110,000 people in the U.K. From over nine years and found the more free surgery they consumed, the higher their risk for heart disease and stroke.
According to the Food and Drug Administration. free sugars can be sold as table sugar and other sweeteners.
It’s also added to processed foods like sodas, baked goods and desserts.