Combination therapy is expected to treat pancreatic cancer

Pancreatic cancer is a common fatal cancer, five-year survival rate of only 6%. Because of memory due to cancer therapy resistance and failure, so urgent emergence of new therapies.
Scientists generally believe that before the drug penetration is poor, can not enter the pancreatic cancer cells is the cause of treatment failure. But there CSHL Professor David Tuveson led research team found that there are other reasons.
Related reports published in the latest issue of PNAS journal. Scientists have found that there is substance to maintain pancreatic tumor cancer survival. Cancer cells in the surrounding matrix molecules, such as Recombinant human Potassium-transporting ATPase subunit beta http://www.cusabio.com/protein-Recombinant_Protein-1030502/ can provide survival signals to the cancer cells so the cancer cells avoid chemotherapy damage.

Dr. Tuveson said drug delivery is a problem, there are more important issue is the nutritional factor enables cancer cells to escape the scourge of cancer.
But scientists have found a blocked pancreatic cancer cell growth promoting methods. FG-3019 antibody capable of binding to the molecule to prevent CTGF provide survival signals to pancreatic cancer cells, the drug has entered Phase 1/2 clinical trials. CTGF signal part by the called XIAP (X-linked inhibitor of apoptosis) mediated by the molecule, XIAP naming its source function, the molecule is capable of maintaining the cells from apoptosis and activity.
Research team led by Dr. Tuveson with pancreatic cancer in mice as a model to study the role of FG-3019. Using FG-3019 in combination with gemcitabine chemotherapy drugs can prevent the growth of pancreatic cancer cells in mice. XIAP down cancer cells, while the apoptosis of cancer cells increases. Importantly, mice life after FG-3019 and gemcitabine treatment has improved significantly.
The results showed that the use of combined therapy is expected to overcome the problem of drug resistance of cancer cells that can help while using chemotherapy drugs into the interior of the tumor and cancer cell survival signal blocking drugs combined with chemotherapy.
There are other causes of cancer death for drugs, such as Bcl-2 and Bcl-xL antagonist, these two molecules are molecules prevent cell apoptosis. Dr. Tuveson said, there are some pro-apoptotic drugs, although we have not yet detected the test results, but is theoretically possible.