Grant ID | RP120777 |
Awarded On | March 29, 2012 |
Title | P4: Will Suppressing Mast Cell Function Improve Immunotherapy for Pancreatic Cancer? |
Program | Academic Research |
Award Mechanism | Individual Investigator |
Institution/Organization | The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center |
Principal Investigator/Program Director | Stephen E Ullrich |
Cancer Sites | Sarcoma |
Contracted Amount | $778,431 |
Lay Summary |
Therapy for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) have lagged behind advances for most other cancers. PDAC is resistant to most conventional cancer therapies, including immunotherapy. The resistance to immunotherapy is paradoxical. Tumor antigens are found on PDAC cells, and cancer reactive cytolytic T cells are found in the blood of pancreatic cancer patients. Obviously, the immune system can recognize antigen(s) on pancreatic cancer cells and can mount a response against them. But the dismal survival rates suggest that the immune system is not clearing the cancer in the patient. Current thinking suggests that tumor-induced immunosuppression is the reason, and countering immune suppressio... |