Scientists from the University of Glasgow are developing new ways to predict who will respond to drugs targeting damaged DNA in pancreatic cancer.
Publishing their findings in Gastroenterology, the team used cells grown in the lab (cell lines) and mini replicas of patients’ tumours (organoids) to identify molecular markers that can predict which tumours will respond to a number of drugs that target damaged DNA.
The team are now moving into a clinical trial – PRIMUS-004 – part of the Cancer Research UK Precision Panc platform for pancreatic cancer, which aims to increase opportunities for people with pancreatic cancer to join clinical trials and to develop new treatment strategies.
The programme is funded by Cancer Research UK, who has invested £10 million in Precision Panc to speed up understanding of pancreatic and work towards more tailored treatment for the disease.