Preventing Pancreatic Cancer Recurrence with a Vaccine After Surgery

Developing MRI-Guided Preventive Dendritic Cell Vaccination Strategy to Avoid Post-surgical Pancreatic Cancer Recurrence and Metastasis

['FUNDING_R01'] · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA-IRVINE · NIH-11089444

This work explores a new vaccine to help stop pancreatic cancer from coming back after surgery, aiming to improve long-term survival for patients.

Quick facts

Phase['FUNDING_R01']
Study typeNih_funding
SexAll
SponsorUNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA-IRVINE (nih funded)
Locations1 site (IRVINE, UNITED STATES)
Trial IDNIH-11089444 on ClinicalTrials.gov

What this research studies

Pancreatic cancer often returns even after surgery, which is why this project is looking for better ways to prevent recurrence. Researchers are testing a special vaccine made from dendritic cells, which are immune cells that can teach your body to fight cancer. This vaccine will be given after surgery, sometimes combined with standard chemotherapy, to see if it can keep the cancer from coming back. They will also use advanced MRI imaging to track how the vaccine travels in the body, hoping to predict who will respond best to the treatment.

Who could benefit from this research

Good fit: Ideal candidates would be patients who have recently undergone surgery for pancreatic cancer and are at high risk for recurrence.

Not a fit: Patients with advanced pancreatic cancer that cannot be surgically removed, or those who have not had surgery, may not directly benefit from this specific preventive approach.

Why it matters

Potential benefit: If successful, this approach could significantly reduce the chance of pancreatic cancer returning after surgery and improve survival rates for patients.

How similar studies have performed: While standard treatments offer modest improvements, this specific combination of dendritic cell vaccination and MRI tracking for preventing pancreatic cancer recurrence is a novel approach.

Where this research is happening

IRVINE, UNITED STATES

Researchers

About this research

  1. This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
  2. Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
  3. For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.

View on NIH RePORTER →

Conditions: Cancer Cause, Cancer Etiology, Cancer Treatment

Last reviewed 2026-05-15 by the Find a Trial editorial team. Information on this page is for educational purposes and is not medical advice. Always consult qualified healthcare professionals about clinical trial participation.