This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies. Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility:

An investigational vaccine helped the immune system recognize and respond to mutations that drive most pancreatic cancers, according to results from a randomized phase 2 clinical trial led by Mayo Clinic researchers. The findings, published in Nature Medicine, will help researchers design a larger phase 3 clinical trial.

Nearly every patient evaluated after receiving the vaccine developed an immune response against mutated KRAS, a gene that plays a major role in pancreatic cancer. Mayo Clinic researchers also found that patients with stronger immune responses tended to remain free of disease longer.

"Historically, pancreatic cancer has been very difficult to treat with immunotherapy," says Ben George, M.B.B.S., M.D., a Mayo Clinic medical oncologist and lead author of the study. "What is encouraging is that we were able to generate a strong immune response against KRAS mutations in nearly every patient we evaluated. In an exploratory analysis, patients with greater immune responses to the vaccine appeared protected with longer disease-free survival times."

Pancreatic cancer has a high risk of returning even after surgery and chemotherapy. Researchers have been looking for new ways to find and destroy cancer cells that may remain in the body after treatment.

Mutations in the KRAS gene are found in about 90% of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinomas, the most common type of pancreatic cancer. These mutations help cancer cells grow and survive.

Source link