{"id":14515,"date":"2017-10-12T00:00:56","date_gmt":"2017-10-12T07:00:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vermont.salk.edu\/?post_type=disclosure&#038;p=14515"},"modified":"2018-04-02T16:28:16","modified_gmt":"2018-04-02T23:28:16","slug":"salk-researchers-awarded-2-5-million-innovative-pancreatic-cancer-clinical-trial","status":"publish","type":"disclosure","link":"https:\/\/www.salk.edu\/de\/news-release\/salk-researchers-awarded-2-5-million-innovative-pancreatic-cancer-clinical-trial\/","title":{"rendered":"Salk researchers awarded $2.5 million for innovative pancreatic cancer clinical trial"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>LA JOLLA\u2014Salk Professor and HHMI Investigator <a href=\"https:\/\/www.salk.edu\/de\/scientist\/ronald-evans\/\">Ronald Evans<\/a> has been awarded $2.5 million by <a href=\"http:\/\/www.standuptocancer.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Stand Up To Cancer<\/a> (SU2C) as part of a multi-institution team to conduct clinical studies to open up a new avenue for immunotherapy in the treatment of pancreatic <a href=\"https:\/\/www.salk.edu\/de\/science\/research\/cancer-biology\/\">Krebs<\/a>. While the cancer normally excludes immune T-cells, the Evans lab discovered that modified vitamin D reprograms the cancer environment in a way that may allow the Merck drug Keytruda<strong>\u00ae<\/strong> to invade and destroy the tumor.<\/p>\n<div class=\"row\" style=\"\"><div class=\"col-md-10 col-md-push-1\"><div class=\"video-anchor\" id=\"video-qi5PnkN8H0I\"><\/div><div class=\"embed-responsive embed-responsive-16by9\"> <iframe class=\"embed-responsive-item\" src=\"\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/qi5PnkN8H0I?rel=0\" webkitallowfullscreen mozallowfullscreen allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div><!-- .embed-responsive --><\/div><!-- .col-md-*size --><\/div><!-- .\/row -->\n<p>The award of $2.5 million over three years is part of SU2C Catalyst<strong>\u00ae<\/strong>, which uses \u201cfunding and materials from the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, diagnostic and medical devices industries to accelerate research on cancer prevention, detection and treatment,\u201d according to SU2C. This SU2C award is supported by the pharmaceutical company Merck, which is providing funding and the immunotherapy drug Keytruda (pembrolizumab) for the clinical trial.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Evans lab\u2019s discovery that vitamin D can make pancreatic tumors more susceptible to drug therapy suggested the added potential to also wake up the patient\u2019s own immune system.\u201d says Salk President Elizabeth Blackburn. \u201cCombining vitamin D and immuno-oncology gives new hope to tens of thousands of pancreatic cancer patients whose treatment options have been devastatingly limited thus far. This could be a game changer.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Pancreatic cancer is one of the deadliest types of cancers, both because it is often diagnosed late and because its unique tumor environment makes it impervious to both chemotherapy and immunotherapy. Pancreatic tumors co-opt the body\u2019s natural wound-healing response, hiding behind a wall of immune cells and inflammatory molecules almost like an armor that drugs can\u2019t penetrate. In the meantime, the tumor uses the nutrients that should be supporting the immune cells to nourish itself.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_14517\"  class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"450\" class=\"img-responsive wp-image-14517 size-pr-300\" src=\"https:\/\/www.salk.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/Ron-Evans-Michael-Downes-IMG_0475e-300x450.jpg\" alt=\"Michael Downes and Ronald Evans\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.salk.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/Ron-Evans-Michael-Downes-IMG_0475e-300x450.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.salk.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/Ron-Evans-Michael-Downes-IMG_0475e-200x300.jpg 200w, https:\/\/www.salk.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/Ron-Evans-Michael-Downes-IMG_0475e-768x1152.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.salk.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/Ron-Evans-Michael-Downes-IMG_0475e-683x1024.jpg 683w, https:\/\/www.salk.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/Ron-Evans-Michael-Downes-IMG_0475e-147x221.jpg 147w, https:\/\/www.salk.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/Ron-Evans-Michael-Downes-IMG_0475e-458x687.jpg 458w, https:\/\/www.salk.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/Ron-Evans-Michael-Downes-IMG_0475e-585x878.jpg 585w, https:\/\/www.salk.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/Ron-Evans-Michael-Downes-IMG_0475e-553x830.jpg 553w, https:\/\/www.salk.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/Ron-Evans-Michael-Downes-IMG_0475e-750x1125.jpg 750w, https:\/\/www.salk.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/Ron-Evans-Michael-Downes-IMG_0475e-945x1418.jpg 945w, https:\/\/www.salk.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/Ron-Evans-Michael-Downes-IMG_0475e.jpg 2000w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">From left: Michael Downes and Ronald Evans<\/p>\n<p> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.salk.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/Ron-Evans-Michael-Downes-IMG_0475e.jpg\">Klicken Sie hier<\/a> for a high-resolution image<\/p>\n<p> Kredit: Salk Institut<\/p>\n<p><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cWe have to bring pancreatic cancer treatment into the modern age,\u201d says Evans, who is the director of Salk\u2019s Gene Expression Laboratory and holder of Salk\u2019s March of Dimes Chair in Molecular and Developmental Biology. \u201cThis cancer is a particularly strong foe. It has resisted basically everything thrown at it. But we believe that it can be tamed, conquered and hopefully cured. This grant is a big step toward making that happen.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>It turns out that the armor surrounding and protecting pancreatic tumors is controlled by a molecular switch that the Evans lab showed can be controlled by a special synthetic form of vitamin D. When Evans and colleagues administered the drug to mice and a small number of humans, it \u201ccooled down\u201d the inflamed environment, allowing chemotherapy to be more effective.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Salk team will work with Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen) in analyzing patient samples to figure out whether our theories about combining vitamin D and immunotherapy are correct or not\u2014and we&#8217;ll know that pretty rapidly,\u201d says Michael Downes, a Salk senior scientist and co-principal investigator of the new grant.<\/p>\n<p>Heading the clinical group in Phoenix, AZ, is Daniel Von Hoff, MD, Physician-in-Chief at TGen and the Chief Scientific Officer at HonorHealth, a primary clinical trial site. Salk will also work closely with Andrew Lowy, MD, and the clinical oncology group at the University of California, San Diego Cancer Center.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe are extremely excited about this trial, because for the first time we\u2019re able to get patients into remission\u2014even stage 4 patients\u2014where we see the tumor shrink,\u201d says Von Hoff. \u201cThe high dose of this vitamin D derivative allows the body\u2019s immune system to go from viewing the cancerous cells from something that is normal, to recognizing them for the invaders they are and hopefully attacking them as they would a common infection.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The clinical trial is set to run for 12 to 18 months. Jill Pechacek, MD, is a patient who received a treatment regimen in the prior SU2C study. She is a member of the Stand Up To Cancer\u2013Cancer Research UK\u2013Lustgarten Foundation Pancreatic Cancer Dream Team, serving as a patient advocate for others with the disease.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI&#8217;ve been on high-dose vitamin D since my diagnosis of stage 4 pancreatic cancer and I truly feel that it has played an important role in my response to treatment, and ultimately my quality of life,\u201d says Pechacek. As a single mother of three young children, she wants to contribute to a cure so that other patients\u2019 families don\u2019t have to go through what hers has.<\/p>\n<p>Evans adds, \u201cOur goal is to completely change the landscape of pancreatic cancer therapy in a really short time. In the end, it\u2019s all about the patient.\u201d<\/p>","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"template":"","faculty":[91],"disease-research":[279,46,172],"class_list":["post-14515","disclosure","type-disclosure","status-publish","hentry","faculty-ronald-evans","disease-research-awards","disease-research-cancer-biology","disease-research-pancreatic-cancer"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Salk researchers awarded $2.5 million for innovative pancreatic cancer clinical trial - Salk Institute for Biological Studies<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.salk.edu\/de\/news-release\/salk-researchers-awarded-2-5-million-innovative-pancreatic-cancer-clinical-trial\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"de_DE\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Salk researchers awarded $2.5 million for innovative pancreatic cancer clinical trial - Salk Institute for Biological Studies\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"LA JOLLA\u2014Salk Professor and HHMI Investigator Ronald Evans has been awarded $2.5 million by Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C) as part of a multi-institution team to conduct clinical studies to open up a new avenue for immunotherapy in the treatment of pancreatic cancer. 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