The FDA reports on advances in the treatment and prevention of pancreatic cancer, one of the deadliest cancers, according to Pannochka, an online publication for girls and women aged 14 to 35.. net Pancreatic cancer is the fourth most common cancer in the United States.

Every year, more than 46,000 people in this country are diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, and 39,000 people die each year from this disease..

These are the sad statistics of the US National Cancer Institute.

Current treatments for pancreatic cancer include chemotherapy, surgical removal of the tumor, and radiation therapy.. But with all efforts, the five-year survival rate for this diagnosis barely exceeds 5%.. The main reason for such a terrible situation is that pancreatic cancer in the early stages is asymptomatic, and the disease is diagnosed too late..

Direction 1: impact on the KRAS gene.

“Today we know much more about this cancer than ever before.. We know that it usually originates in the pancreatic ducts, and that in most patients, the analysis shows a mutation of the KRAS gene in tumor samples, ”says Dr. Abhilasha Nair, an oncologist with the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Scientists are trying to develop drugs that specifically target the KRAS gene mutation in cancer cells.

“Getting the right drug against a specific mutation will be a big breakthrough in the treatment of pancreatic cancer.. The KRAS gene is a very difficult target. We need to learn more about it in order to better understand it and understand how to overcome the problem,” the FDA experts write..

Direction 2: modification of risk factors.

In addition, many American scientists are now working on factors that may affect the risk of pancreatic cancer..

So far recognized risk factors are smoking, diabetes, several genetic mutations, Lynch syndrome (a genetic disorder that increases the risk of several types of cancer), and pancreatitis, an inflammation of the pancreas that can cause abdominal pain, diarrhea, and weight loss..

Track 3: Immune Therapy for Cancer.

Immune therapy, which has shown excellent results in the treatment of melanoma and some other types of cancer, is the third line of research in this area..

Several promising immune therapies for the treatment of pancreatic cancer are currently in various stages of development, but are still far from clinical use..

“Not so long ago, the prognosis for melanoma was very poor.. But with the introduction of new therapies that boost the patient's own immune system, the situation has changed dramatically.. We hope that new research in the field of pancreatic cancer will bring the same, if not much better results,” Dr. Nair writes in a news release..

medbe. en.