Understanding Pancreatic Cancer's Response to Pre-Surgery Treatment
Improving response prediction to neoadjuvant therapy in pancreatic cancer
This project aims to find better ways to tell if chemotherapy given before surgery is working for people with localized pancreatic cancer.
Quick facts
| Grant type | Career grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Dana-Farber Cancer Inst NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Boston, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11141863 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
Pancreatic cancer can be challenging, and even after surgery, it often returns. To improve outcomes, doctors often give chemotherapy before surgery, but it's hard to know if this treatment is truly effective for each patient because tumors don't always shrink in size. This project will carefully examine tumor samples from patients who have received pre-surgery chemotherapy. By studying the unique features of these tumors at a cellular level, we hope to discover specific markers that predict how well the cancer will respond to treatment. This knowledge could help doctors choose the most effective treatment plan for each individual.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Patients with localized pancreatic cancer who are considering or undergoing chemotherapy before surgery might be ideal candidates for future applications of this research.
Not a fit: Patients with advanced, metastatic pancreatic cancer or those not receiving pre-surgical chemotherapy may not directly benefit from this specific research focus.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could help doctors personalize treatment for pancreatic cancer patients, ensuring they receive the most effective chemotherapy before surgery.
How similar studies have performed: While pre-surgical chemotherapy is common, identifying specific molecular predictors for individual patient response in pancreatic cancer is a novel area where understanding is still developing.
Where this research is happening
Boston, United States
- Dana-Farber Cancer Inst — Boston, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Singh, Harshabad — Dana-Farber Cancer Inst
- Study coordinator: Singh, Harshabad
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 below.