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OHSU Discovery May Lead to Early Cancer Detection
May 23, 2008OHSU pancreatic cancer expert Brett Sheppard, M.D., and colleagues in the OHSU Oregon Stem Cell Center, have developed antibodies that recognize pancreatic cancer; Sheppard is presenting these findings this week during Digestive Disease Week in San Diego
This week researchers in the Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) Oregon Stem Cell Center and the OHSU Digestive Health Center are shining a new ray of hope on patients with pancreatic cancer. They've developed new reagents, or antibodies, that can recognize this often lethal disease. This important discovery may one day lead to earlier detection and treatment.
The new antibodies recognize a small number of normal pancreas cells, specifically cells involved in the transport of enzymes out of the pancreas, but recognize many more cells in pancreatic cancer tissue. In addition to recognizing pancreatic cancer, these antibodies recognize gastrointestinal cancers.
"The next step is to use these antibodies in a sensitive screening test to determine their full potential in diagnosis of this devastating disease," said Brett Sheppard, M.D., study co-investigator and pancreatic cancer surgeon in the OHSU Digestive Health Center.
Sheppard, who also is professor and vice chairman of surgery in the OHSU School of Medicine and member of the OHSU Cancer Institute, will present these findings this week at Digestive Disease Week 2008 (Abstract No. 1838: "Development of Monoclonal Antibodies to Aid in the Diagnosis of Pancreatic Cancer").
Today just 15 percent of pancreatic cancer cases are detected early enough to qualify for a potential cure. Unfortunately, the signs and symptoms of the disease do not usually appear until the cancer is in advanced stages, when surgery - currently the best and only treatment for pancreatic cancer - is no longer an option.
This adverse set of circumstances is compounded by the fact that pancreatic cancer is not common enough to justify routine screening in the general population, and there are no screening blood tests or radiologic procedures sensitive enough to detect it early on. As a result, today pancreatic cancer is the fourth-leading cause of cancer death in the United States.
Eager to devise an earlier means of detection and save more lives, Philip Streeter, Ph.D., lead investigator on the study and director of the monoclonal antibody resource facility in the OHSU Oregon Stem Cell Center, along with Sheppard and colleagues generated and characterized antibodies, which were developed following the injection of normal pancreas cells into mice. They next took the spleen cells of the mice and fused them with a myeloma cell line, which yields cells that can be grown for long periods of time in the laboratory. These cells secreted antibodies that the researchers were then able to screen for reaction with normal pancreatic and pancreatic cancer tissues.
"The primary goal of the antibody resource facility is to develop novel reagents which will positively impact research in the broad field of stem cell biology, including basic studies of stem cells, developmental biology, tissue regeneration and repair, and disease diagnosis and therapy. We hope that the new antibodies introduced in San Diego will allow early detection and treatment of pancreatic cancer," said Streeter, who also is an associate professor of medicine (hematology/medical oncology) in the OHSU School of Medicine and a member of the OHSU Cancer Institute.
In addition to research with these new antibodies, Sheppard and colleagues have established the Oregon Pancreas Tumor Registry, which is intended to keep patients at high risk for pancreatic cancer under surveillance, with the goal of early diagnosis. The registry also acts as a biospecimen repository in which patients and families may provide blood, pancreatic ductal fluid and tissue samples. Researchers may then use the samples for pancreatic cancer research.
OHSU has filed for patent protection on certain aspects of these antibodies. Additional information can be obtained from the Office of Technology & Research Collaborations,
Other OHSU investigators on this study include: Karin Hardiman, M.D.; Craig Dorrell, Ph.D.; Christopher Corless, M.D., Ph.D.; and Markus Grompe, M.D.
Oregon Health & Science University
"The next step is to use these antibodies in a sensitive screening test to determine their full potential in diagnosis of this devastating disease," said Brett Sheppard, M.D., study co-investigator and pancreatic cancer surgeon in the OHSU Digestive Health Center.
Sheppard, who also is professor and vice chairman of surgery in the OHSU School of Medicine and member of the OHSU Cancer Institute, will present these findings this week at Digestive Disease Week 2008 (Abstract No. 1838: "Development of Monoclonal Antibodies to Aid in the Diagnosis of Pancreatic Cancer").
Today just 15 percent of pancreatic cancer cases are detected early enough to qualify for a potential cure. Unfortunately, the signs and symptoms of the disease do not usually appear until the cancer is in advanced stages, when surgery - currently the best and only treatment for pancreatic cancer - is no longer an option.
This adverse set of circumstances is compounded by the fact that pancreatic cancer is not common enough to justify routine screening in the general population, and there are no screening blood tests or radiologic procedures sensitive enough to detect it early on. As a result, today pancreatic cancer is the fourth-leading cause of cancer death in the United States.
Eager to devise an earlier means of detection and save more lives, Philip Streeter, Ph.D., lead investigator on the study and director of the monoclonal antibody resource facility in the OHSU Oregon Stem Cell Center, along with Sheppard and colleagues generated and characterized antibodies, which were developed following the injection of normal pancreas cells into mice. They next took the spleen cells of the mice and fused them with a myeloma cell line, which yields cells that can be grown for long periods of time in the laboratory. These cells secreted antibodies that the researchers were then able to screen for reaction with normal pancreatic and pancreatic cancer tissues.
"The primary goal of the antibody resource facility is to develop novel reagents which will positively impact research in the broad field of stem cell biology, including basic studies of stem cells, developmental biology, tissue regeneration and repair, and disease diagnosis and therapy. We hope that the new antibodies introduced in San Diego will allow early detection and treatment of pancreatic cancer," said Streeter, who also is an associate professor of medicine (hematology/medical oncology) in the OHSU School of Medicine and a member of the OHSU Cancer Institute.
In addition to research with these new antibodies, Sheppard and colleagues have established the Oregon Pancreas Tumor Registry, which is intended to keep patients at high risk for pancreatic cancer under surveillance, with the goal of early diagnosis. The registry also acts as a biospecimen repository in which patients and families may provide blood, pancreatic ductal fluid and tissue samples. Researchers may then use the samples for pancreatic cancer research.
OHSU has filed for patent protection on certain aspects of these antibodies. Additional information can be obtained from the Office of Technology & Research Collaborations,
Other OHSU investigators on this study include: Karin Hardiman, M.D.; Craig Dorrell, Ph.D.; Christopher Corless, M.D., Ph.D.; and Markus Grompe, M.D.
Oregon Health & Science University
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Researchers from St. Louis University School of Medicine in Missouri report that EUS and EUS-FNA is 99.1 percent accurate in diagnosing pancreatic neoplasms (abnormal growths or tumors) in patients who were referred for endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) because of CT and/or MRI reports of two common, though somewhat ambiguous findings - enlargement of head of pancreas (HOP) or dilation of the pancreatic duct (PD).
VCU Massey Cancer Center and VCU Institute of Molecular Medicine Researchers Publish Findings of a New Chemoprevention Gene Therapy That Kills Pancreatic Cancer Cells
Researchers at the Virginia Commonwealth University Massey Cancer Center and the VCU Institute of Molecular Medicine have published findings that implicate a new chemoprevention gene therapy (CGT) for preventing and treating pancreatic cancer, one of the most lethal and treatment-resistant forms of cancer.
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Why do patients with gastric or pancreatic cancer live longer when they are treated at cancer centers or high-volume hospitals than patients treated at low-volume or community hospitals?
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Patients with gastric or pancreatic cancer appear to have more lymph nodes examined for the spread of their disease if they are treated at hospitals performing more cancer surgeries or those designated as comprehensive cancer centers.
Certain anticancer agents could be harmful to patients with heart disease
A set of promising new anticancer agents could have unforeseen risks in individuals with heart disease, suggests research at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.
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UAB Study Shows Drug May Fight Biliary Cancers
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Salivary diagnostics, the 'magic mirror' to your health ... at your personal computer
Accuracy, convenience, and non-invasiveness are the most critical characteristics for any diagnostic tool. A new concept, Salivaomics Knowledge Base (SKB), an in silico (i.e., performed on computer or via computer simulation) saliva diagnostic atlas, is launching today during the 37th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Dental Research in Dallas, Texas.
Genetic variations raise lung cancer risk for smokers and ex-smokers
Two common inherited genetic variations are associated with increased risk of lung cancer for smokers and former smokers, a research team led by scientists at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center reports April 2 in the online edition of Nature Genetics.
Spit tests may soon replace many blood tests
One day soon patients may spit in a cup, instead of bracing for a needle prick, when being tested for cancer, heart disease or diabetes. A major step in that direction is the cataloguing of the "complete" salivary proteome, a set of proteins in human ductal saliva, identified by a consortium of three research teams.
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