MRI-guided dendritic cell vaccine to prevent pancreatic cancer recurrence after surgery
Official title: Developing MRI-Guided Preventive Dendritic Cell Vaccination Strategy to Avoid Post-surgical Pancreatic Cancer Recurrence and Metastasis
Funded at University of California-Irvine · NIH-11326221 · Data updated 2026-11-12
A new approach using MRI-tracked dendritic cell vaccines alongside standard therapy aims to reduce pancreatic cancer coming back after surgery.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of California-Irvine NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Irvine, United States) |
| Project start | August 1, 2016 |
| Project end | May 31, 2028 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $392,500 |
| NIH project number | 5R01CA209886-10 |
| Project ID | NIH-11326221 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Patients who have undergone surgical resection for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma and are eligible for adjuvant therapy.
✕Less likely to help
Patients not undergoing dendritic cell vaccination or those with contraindications to MRI contrast or gemcitabine chemotherapy may not benefit.
What this research studies
After surgical removal of pancreatic cancer, recurrence is common and survival remains low. This grant proposes combining an improved dendritic cell vaccine delivery with standard chemotherapy, and also exploring vaccine-alone or chemo-alone strategies to understand which works best. The research will use advanced MRI techniques to track where the vaccine goes in the body and whether it reaches lymph nodes, which may correlate with better outcomes. The goal is to tailor vaccine dosing and timing to improve long-term survival for patients undergoing tumor resection.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, patients could experience longer survival and lower risk of recurrence after pancreatic cancer surgery.
How similar studies have gone: Previous work suggests immune-based vaccines can impact cancer control, but applying MRI-tracked dendritic cell vaccines to pancreatic cancer is a novel approach with early promising signals.
Where this research is happening
-
University of California-Irvine
Irvine, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Zhang, Zhuoli — University of California-Irvine
- Study coordinator: Zhang, Zhuoli
Related research
Other NIH-funded projects on the same topics.
-
Preventing Pancreatic Cancer Recurrence with a Vaccine After Surgery
This work explores a new vaccine to help stop pancreatic cancer from coming back after surgery, aiming to improve long-term survival for patients.
-
Camk2b loss fuels pancreatic cancer spread and immune suppression
A new NIH grant seeks to understand why losing CAMK2B in pancreatic cancer makes the cancer spread more and suppresses immune responses, using advanced mouse models.
-
Cystine-limited stress and pancreatic cancer growth and spread
Aims to understand how pancreatic cancer cells survive when the nutrient cystine is scarce and to find weak spots that could be targeted to slow or stop tumor growth and spread.
-
Anti-MUC16 antibody combo to fight metastatic pancreatic cancer
A new antibody-based treatment added to standard chemotherapy is being tested to slow or stop the spread of pancreatic cancer in preclinical models.
-
Understanding what drives metastasis in pancreatic cancer
A researcher at a top cancer center is studying why pancreatic cancer spreads, aiming to identify key factors that could be targeted to stop metastasis.
-
Microbes in pancreatic cancer: where they live and how they affect spread
This research studies how bacteria inside pancreatic tumors and liver metastases might influence cancer growth and spread, with goals that could lead to new ways to treat or manage pancreatic cancer.
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.