Innovative trial offers hope on World Pancreatic Cancer Day

Pancreatic cancer is the tenth most common cancer in the UK. Around 10,00 people are diagnosed each year. Of these, at least 40 percent are diagnosed when the cancer has already spread to other parts of the body (stage 4).

Pancreatic cancer remains one of the most challenging cancers. Most patients are still diagnosed late, when few treatment options are available.

The life expectancy for people diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer is less than a year and, when diagnosed, many people are already too unwell to benefit from existing treatments. Where treatment is possible, the leading option is intensive chemotherapy that often comes with side effect and little, if any, improvements in quality of life.

Led from Cambridge University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust (CUH) and the University of Cambridge, the CRISTAL-APC trial aims to allow more people with stage 4 pancreatic cancer to benefit from treatment while experiencing reduced side effect. The trial will combine chemotherapy with a drug known as VP-002.

Chief Investigator of the trial, Dr Bristi Basu, hopes that the combination of VP-002 and chemotherapy will be more effective against the cancer, while causing less harm to patients.

Full article: CANCER RESEARCH UK