pancreatic cancer Archives - Sanford Burnham Prebys

Tag: pancreatic cancer

Institute News

Behind the scenes at Sanford Burnham Prebys’ Cancer Center

AuthorMiles Martin
Date

March 28, 2023

A scientist - a young woman with glasses - presents her poster on colorectal cancer to a group of interested open house guests

Cancer Center open house connects San Diego community with scientists working toward cancer cures

The Institute’s NCI-designated Cancer Center hosted an open house to showcase the latest research advances in cancers of the digestive system. The event was sponsored by the center’s Community Advisory Board (CAB), which provides a link to community networks of people—including patients, survivors and their loved ones.

“These events are especially helpful for people affected by cancer because our researchers can explain the science behind the disease and the approaches we use to find new treatments,” says Associate Professor Cosimo Commisso, PhD, who co-hosted the event with Adjunct Associate Professor Pamela Itkin-Ansari, PhD “As researchers, it’s critical that we have community participation to influence our research—so we benefit as well.” 

The open house, which was free to the public, fulfills a key part of the CAB’s mission—to create awareness of the cancer research being done at the Institute and to promote dialogue between its scientists and the community. Guests had the chance to mingle with cancer researchers, and there was also a panelist table, where they could ask questions directly to a panel including two cancer survivors and a clinician.

The theme of the open house was cancers of the digestive system, which includes pancreatic cancer, liver cancer, stomach cancer and colorectal cancer. Although these cancers are very diverse, one thing many cancers of the digestive system have in common is that they take a long time to diagnose and are difficult to treat. 

“These are devastating cancers,” says Commisso. “We’ve doubled the survival rates for pancreatic cancer since I started working in this field over a decade ago, but it’s still only around 10%. And that’s just not good enough.”

Attendees also got behind-the-scenes tours of labs, including Commisso’s, where researchers are working to halt pancreatic cancer by blocking nutrients—in essence, starving tumor cells of the fuel they need to grow and proliferate. 

“We have a lot of researchers taking different approaches to cancer here at the Institute, and it’s important for people affected by cancer to know that while we’re still a long way off from ending cancer forever, we’re still making progress,” adds Commisso.

Institute News

Top Sanford Burnham Prebys research stories of 2021

AuthorSusan Gammon
Date

December 14, 2021

top 10 sign

This year’s most popular research stories include scientific breakthroughs in COVID-19, cancer, schizophrenia and more.

As we bid farewell to 2021, let’s celebrate our most newsworthy research breakthroughs. Despite the continuing challenges brought on by COVID-19, Sanford Burnham Prebys achieved important milestones on the frontiers of biomedical science.

The following 10 research-related stories received top views on Newswise—the press release distribution service for journalists seeking health and science news.
 

  1. COVID-19: Scientists identify human genes that fight infection
    A research team was able to pinpoint specific human genes that control viral infection. The information sheds new light on factors that lead to severe disease and guides therapeutic options.
     
  2. Tumor marker may help overcome endocrine treatment-resistant breast cancer
    The study discovered a new approach to select breast cancer patients for HER2 therapy and could help individuals avoid disease relapse or progression of endocrine-sensitive disease.
     
  3. Scientists identify potential drug candidates for deadly pediatric leukemia
    Two existing drugs—JAK inhibitors and Mepron—show promise for a subtype of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) that is more common in children. The drugs are proven safe in humans, which could accelerate clinical studies.
     
  4. Leprosy drug holds promise as at-home treatment for COVID-19
    Scientists found that the leprosy drug clofazimine, which is FDA approved and on the World Health Organization’s List of Essential Medicines, exhibits potent antiviral activities against SARS-CoV-2, and could become an important weapon against future pandemics.
     
  5. Researchers dig deeper into how cells transport their waste for recycling
    Research describing how the “trash bags” in a cell—called autophagosomes—are tagged for recycling opened new paths to understand age-related diseases such as cancer and neurological disorders.
     
  6. New drug combination shows promise as powerful treatment for AML
    Researchers identified two drugs that are potent against acute myeloid leukemia (AML) when combined, but only weakly effective when used alone. The study provides a scientific rationale for advancing clinical studies of the drug combination.
     
  7. Biomarker could help diagnose schizophrenia at an early age
    A study described how elevated levels of a protein called CRMP2—found in the brain and blood—could become a format for a rapid, minimally invasive blood test to support the diagnosis of schizophrenia.
     
  8. Scientists identify “immune cop” that detects SARS-CoV-2
    Researchers discovered the sensor in human lungs that detects SARS-CoV-2 and signals that it’s time to mount an antiviral attack. The sensor activates interferon, the body’s own frontline defender against viral invasion.
     
  9. Study finds promising therapeutic target for colitis
    Scientists identified an enzyme in the gut that triggers an inflammatory cascade leading to colitis. Therapeutically targeting the enzyme may be a viable approach to help the millions of people worldwide affected by the disorder.
     
  10. Scientists shrink pancreatic tumors by starving their cellular “neighbors”
    For the first time, blocking “cell drinking,” or micropinocytosis in the thick tissue surrounding a pancreatic tumor, was shown to slow tumor growth—providing more evidence that micropinocytosis is an important therapeutic target.
Institute News

Our top 10 discoveries of 2020

AuthorMonica May
Date

December 14, 2020

notebook with Top 10 written at top of page

This year required dedication, patience and perseverance as we all adjusted to a new normal—and we’re proud that our scientists more than rose to the occasion.

Despite the challenges presented by staggered-shift work and remote communications, our researchers continued to produce scientific insights that lay the foundation for achieving cures.

Read on to learn more about our top 10 discoveries of the year—which includes progress in the fight against COVID-19, insights into treating deadly cancers, research that may help children born with a rare condition, and more.
 

  1. Nature study identifies 21 existing drugs that could treat COVID-19

    Sumit Chanda, PhD, and his team screened one of the world’s largest drug collections to find compounds that can stop the replication of SARS-CoV-2. This heroic effort was documented by the New York Times, the New York Times Magazine, TIME, NPR and additional outlets—and his team continues to work around the clock to advance these potential treatment options for COVID-19 patients.

     

  2. Fruit flies reveal new insights into space travel’s effect on the heart

    Wife-and-husband team Karen Ocorr, PhD, and Rolf Bodmer, PhD, shared insights that hold implications for NASA’s plan to build a moon colony by 2024 and send astronauts to Mars.

     

  3. Personalized drug screens could guide treatment for children with brain cancer

    Robert Wechsler-Reya, PhD, and Jessica Rusert, PhD, demonstrated the power of personalized drug screens for medulloblastoma, the most common malignant brain cancer in children.

     

  4. Preventing pancreatic cancer metastasis by keeping cells “sheltered in place”

    Cosimo Commisso, PhD, identified druggable targets that hold promise as treatments that stop pancreatic cancer’s deadly spread.

     

  5. Prebiotics help mice fight melanoma by activating anti-tumor immunity

    Ze’ev Ronai, PhD, showed that two prebiotics, mucin and inulin, slowed the growth of melanoma in mice by boosting the immune system’s ability to fight cancer.

     

  6. New test for rare disease identifies children who may benefit from a simple supplement

    Hudson Freeze, PhD, helped create a test that determines which children with CAD deficiency—a rare metabolic disease—are likely to benefit from receiving a nutritional supplement that has dramatically improved the lives of other children with the condition.

     

  7. Drug guides stem cells to desired location, improving their ability to heal

    Evan Snyder, MD, PhD, created the first drug that can lure stem cells to damaged tissue and improve treatment efficacy—a major advance for regenerative medicine.

     

  8. Scientists identify a new drug target for dry age-related macular degeneration (AMD)

    Francesca Marassi, PhD, showed that the blood protein vitronectin is a promising drug target for dry age-related macular degeneration (AMD), a leading cause of vision loss in Americans 60 years of age and older.

     

  9. Scientists uncover a novel approach to treating Duchenne muscular dystrophy

    Pier Lorenzo Puri, MD, PhD, collaborated with scientists at Fondazione Santa Lucia IRCCS and Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Rome to show that pharmacological (drug) correction of the content of extracellular vesicles released within dystrophic muscles can restore their ability to regenerate muscle and prevent muscle scarring.

     

  10. New drug candidate reawakens sleeping HIV in the hopes of a functional cure

    Sumit Chanda, PhD, Nicholas Cosford, PhD, and Lars Pache, PhD, created a next-generation drug called Ciapavir (SBI-0953294) that is effective at reactivating dormant human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)—an approach called “shock and kill.”

Institute News

Starving the “world’s toughest cancer”

AuthorMonica May
Date

November 18, 2019

Moderator Andrea Decker of the Fleet Science Center; Darren Sigal, a clinician at Scripps Health; Russell Gold, a pancreatic cancer survivor; and Cosimo Commisso, a researcher at Sanford Burnham Prebys

Russell Gold is lucky to be alive. Only 9% of people with pancreatic cancer survive longer than five years—making it one of the deadliest cancers. This January, he will be a six-year survivor. 

To help the public better understand what makes pancreatic cancer so lethal—and how we can develop medicines so there are “more of me,” as Gold said—our Institute teamed up with the Fleet Science Center to host a panel discussion on Sunday, November 17. Gold was joined by a clinician and a scientist who both work on pancreatic cancer: Darren Sigal, MD, of Scripps Health; and Cosimo Commisso, Ph.D., an assistant professor at Sanford Burnham Prebys’ National Cancer Institute (NCI)-designated Cancer Center, respectively. 

As the speakers explained, pancreatic cancer is often difficult to diagnose because symptoms—such as pain in the abdomen, yellow skin and eyes, and weight loss—do not typically occur until the disease is advanced. As a result, pancreatic cancer is the 11th most common cancer but the second-leading cause of cancer death. More than 56,000 Americans are expected to receive a pancreatic cancer diagnosis in 2019, according to the American Cancer Society. 

Commisso, who was recently named a NextGen Star by the American Association for Cancer Research, is hopeful that his research will lead to effective treatments for pancreatic cancer. Commisso’s research focuses on how rapidly growing pancreatic tumors scavenge nutrients using an alternative supply route, called macropinocytosis. His lab has found that blocking this process, often described as “cellular drinking,” causes pancreatic tumors to shrink—indicating that the approach could lead to tumor-starving drugs. 

This event was the fourth of our five-part “Cornering Cancer” series. Register today to join us for a discussion on pediatric brain cancer in December.

Institute News

Scientists discover new survival strategy for oxygen-starved pancreatic cancer cells

AuthorMonica May
Date

October 23, 2019

Cancer tumor

Oxygen is essential to life. When fast-growing tumor cells run out of oxygen, they quickly sprout new blood vessels to keep growing, a process called angiogenesis. 

By blocking pancreatic cancer’s oxygen-sensing machinery—the same field of research studied by the winners of the 2019 Nobel Prize in Medicine—Sanford Burnham Prebys scientists have uncovered a new way that tumors turn on angiogenesis in an animal model. The discovery, published in Cancer Research, could lead to a treatment that is given with an anti-angiogenetic medicine, thereby overcoming drug resistance. 

“Treatment resistance is a major challenge for cancer treatments that block blood vessel growth,” says Garth Powis, D.Phil., professor and director of Sanford Burnham Prebys’ National Cancer Institute (NCI)-designated Cancer Center and senior author of the study. “Our research identifies a new way angiogenesis is activated, opening new opportunities to find medicines that might make existing cancer treatments more effective.” 

Many cancer treatments work by blocking angiogenesis, which rarely occurs in healthy tissues. However, these medicines eventually stop working, and the cancer returns, sometimes in as little as two months. Scientists have been researching why this treatment resistance occurs so it can be stopped.

In this study, the scientists focused on pancreatic cancer, which is notoriously desperate for oxygen and also difficult to treat. Fewer than 10% of people diagnosed with pancreatic cancer are alive five years later. 

To see how a pancreatic tumor responds to a disruption in its oxygen supply, the Sanford Burnham Prebys researchers used a mouse model to block an oxygen-sensing protein called HIF1A—which should cripple the tumor’s growth. Instead of dying, however, after about a month the cells multiplied—indicating they had developed a new way to obtain oxygen. 

Further work revealed that the cancer cells were clear and swollen with the nutrient glycogen (a characteristic also seen in some ovarian and kidney cancers). In response to the excess glycogen, special immune system cells were summoned to the tumor, resulting in blood vessel formation and tumor survival. Each of these responses represents a new way scientists could stop pancreatic tumors from evolving resistance to treatment.

“Our team’s next step is to test tumor samples from people with pancreatic cancer to confirm this escape mechanism occurs in a clinical setting,” says Powis. “One day, perhaps we can create a second medicine that keeps anti-angiogenic drugs working and helps more people survive pancreatic cancer.”    

Research reported in this press release was supported by the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) (5F31CA203286, CA216424 and P30CA030199). The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the NIH. The study’s DOI is 10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-18-2994. 
 

Institute News

AACR selects Sanford Burnham Prebys scientist as NextGen Star

AuthorMonica May
Date

April 4, 2019

Cosimo Commisso, PhD, Sanford Burnham Prebys

The American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) has named Cosimo Commisso, PhD, assistant professor in Sanford Burnham Prebys’ NCI-designated Cancer Center, as a NextGen Star. 

The program strives to increase the visibility of early career scientists at the organization’s annual meeting—one of the year’s largest gatherings of cancer researchers—and to support their professional development and advancement. The 2019 AACR Annual Meeting was held from March 29 to April 3 in Atlanta and attracted more than  21,000 scientists and clinicians. 

As a NextGen star, Commisso was featured on AACR’s website and was invited to give a presentation during a special “NextGen Star” session. He also presented in a session titled, “Features and Functions of the Pancreatic Tumor Microenvironment.” Both talks were well attended.

Commisso’s presentations focused on pancreatic cancer, a deadly and difficult-to-detect tumor. Less than 10 percent of people who are diagnosed with pancreatic cancer are alive five years later. More than 56,000 Americans are expected to be diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2019 and its incidence is on the rise. Pancreatic cancer is on track to become the second leading cause of cancer-related death in the U.S. next year, according to the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network. New studies have linked military service to an increased risk of pancreatic cancer, perhaps due to exposure to herbicides such as Agent Orange.

Commisso is working to halt pancreatic cancer growth by studying the way cells internalize nutrients, called macropinocytosis. In this process, cells extend their membranes to capture nutrients in their surrounding environment—similar to how humans swallow a pill by encasing it in water. 

“We’ve discovered that pancreatic tumors that have a mutation in the RAS gene—which occurs in almost all cases—fuel their growth by kicking macropinocytosis into overdrive,” says Commisso. “By halting macropinocytosis, essentially cutting off the cancer cells’ fuel supply, we hope we can develop effective, much-needed treatments for pancreatic cancer.”

In his NextGen Star presentation, Commisso detailed how macropinocytosis is dialed up or down depending on nutrient availability. Studies performed by Szu-Wei Lee, PhD, a postdoctoral fellow in the Commisso laboratory, indicate that RAS-mutated pancreatic tumors use two forms of macropinocytosis—one that is “always on” (constitutive) and another that is nutrient dependent.

“Uncovering the molecular differences between these two pathways could yield personalized targets that selectively target pancreatic cancer cells,” says Commisso. “In addition to pancreatic tumors, new evidence shows that lung, prostate and bladder cancers highjack macropinocytosis to keep growing. This means our work in pancreatic cancer may also lead to new treatments for these other tumor types.”

Watch Dr. Commisso explain his lab’s focus

View the full list of the NextGen stars 

Interested in keeping up with SBP’s latest discoveries, upcoming events and more? Subscribe to our monthly newsletter, Discoveries below.

Institute News

Cancer cells lure in nutrient-rich neighbors, then mug them

AuthorMonica May
Date

August 9, 2018

Connective tissue cells (stroma) and cancer cells interact

If your grocery store was out of food, would you still invite your friends to a dinner party? 

Unless you happen to have a flourishing garden, probably not. 

Our cells would have the same answer. Food is hard to come by, so cells in our body rarely share nutrients. The only product a cell releases is waste. 

But cancer cells don’t follow these rules. Despite living in a low-nutrient environment, cancer cells draw neighboring stroma cells—the glue-like cells holding our body together—toward them. In this setting you’d expect cells to keep to themselves, not bring more people to the party.

Petrus R. de Jong, MD, PhD​
Petrus R. de Jong, MD, PhD

This odd behavior fascinates Petrus R. de Jong, MD, PhD, research assistant professor at Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute (SBP), who is studying cancer cells to try to better understand this strange act.

“Scientists are learning more and more about the importance of the tumor’s surrounding environment, called the tumor microenvironment,” says de Jong. “We are finding there are many interactions between stroma and cancer cells. If we could block this cross talk, we might be able to find a new way to treat cancer.”

Many people could benefit from this research, though it is still in its earliest stages. Breast, prostate, ovarian and colorectal cancers are all known to interact with stroma cells. De Jong’s lab is studying pancreatic cancer, which remains one of the deadliest cancers. Less than 10 percent of patients live more than five years after diagnosis. If surgery is not possible, chemotherapy and radiation are the only remaining treatment options. 

Using pancreatic cancer cells, including cells isolated from patients after surgery, de Jong and his team designed an experiment to better understand why the cancer cells draw stroma cells near. They placed the cancer and stroma cells in a special container that separated the two but still allowed them to interact. After two days, they removed the cells and used special dyes to visualize different parts of the cells. DNA shows up bright blue. Cancer cells, a vibrant red. And a nutrient cells crave—fats, called lipids—shows up an intense green. [To learn more about how fluorescence microscopy works, read our primer.] 

Peering under the microscope, de Jong and his team saw green lipids emerge from the stroma and taken up by the red cancer cells. 

Flourescent cancer cells​
    Green lipids emerged from the stroma
    and were taken up by the red cancer     
    cells. 

“Lipids are a valuable source of energy, so it is unusual for the stroma cells to release this nutrient to the cancer cells,” says de Jong. “It appears the cancer cell is sending out a signal that tells the stroma cells to give them this food.”

To try to determine how the cancer cells were taking up these lipids, de Jong used chemicals to halt autophagy—a process that allows cells to destroy and recycle their own guts. Cancer cells are known to use autophagy to break down elements that aren’t useful any longer and reuse the material as building blocks for growth. 

“When the autophagy process was halted, the exchange of lipids stopped,” explains de Jong. “This finding indicates the pancreatic cancer cells forced the stroma cells to start eating themselves, then took up the resulting nutrients.”

De Jong’s team is now focused on the next mystery: how the pancreatic cancer cells are taking up these nutrients. If scientists can identify this process, they might be able to find a medicine that halts cancer cells while leaving healthy cells unharmed, the goal for any cancer treatment. 

In other words, they could stop cancer cells from mugging their unsuspecting neighbors. 

Read the AACR 2017 abstract detailing this research. For the full poster, contact de Jong at pdejong@sbpdiscovery.org. 

Interested in keeping up with SBP’s latest discoveries, upcoming events and more? Subscribe to our monthly newsletter, Discoveries.

Institute News

The Epstein Family Foundation gives $1M for pancreatic and prostate cancer research

AuthorKristen Cusato
Date

August 10, 2016

Nicholas Cosford, PhD

Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute (SBP) has received a $1M donation from The Epstein Family Foundation for scientists to study pancreatic and prostate cancer. The gift, contributed by SBP board member Dan Epstein and his wife Phyllis, will support the lab of Nicholas Cosford, PhD, associate director of Translational Research at the Institute’s NCI-designated Cancer Center.

“Nick Cosford is one of our leading scientists investigating new approaches to treat patients with pancreatic and prostate cancers,” said Perry Nisen, MD, PhD, chief executive officer of SBP. “This generous donation from The Epstein Family Foundation will help us realize our vision to translate fundamental research into clinically meaningful benefit for patients.”

Pancreatic cancer is one of the deadliest forms of cancer. There are no effective therapies and the five-year survival rate is only six percent. Prostate cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in U.S. men. 180,000 men are diagnosed with prostate cancer every year in this country.

“I am pleased to be able to help advance research, especially in these two challenging types of cancer,” said Epstein, a long-time supporter of SBP who has been a member of the Institute’s board of trustees since 2011. “Nick Cosford is doing some exciting work in his lab and I look forward to hearing about discoveries that may improve the lives of patients diagnosed with these diseases.”

Cosford, who has spent more than 25 years assembling small molecules into disease-fighting chemical compounds, talked about his lab’s focus.

“Aggressive tumor cells, such as those found in pancreatic and advanced prostate cancer, are highly resistant to the normal mechanisms the body uses to eliminate abnormal cells. We are developing medicines that overcome this resistance by inhibiting the pathways tumor cells use to survive. By designing small molecules that act on apoptosis (programmed cell death) and autophagy (a cell survival mechanism), we hope to develop drugs that will destroy deadly tumor cells and improve patient outcomes,” Cosford said.