Pancreatic cancer, one of the most cruel and deadly diseases, has around 10,800 new cases every year – 30 a day in Britain – according to Cancer Research UK.
It is the fifth deadliest and tenth most common cancer in Britain, notes Action against pancreatic cancer.
Heather Archbold, health information and research manager at Pancreatic Cancer Action, mentioned a sad reality: “The majority of people diagnosed with pancreatic cancer are dead within three months.”
“Forty-four percent of cases are diagnosed in the emergency department, where it is often too late for curative treatment,” she added.
Consequently, only 10 percent of patients are diagnosed in time for life-saving surgery.
But a potential vaccine is now being considered to treat patients with pancreatic cancer and colon cancer patients.
Findings published in the journal Naturopathyhave revealed that in an early study involving pancreatic and colon cancer patients, the groundbreaking new injection appears to be able to slow the progression of the disease and improve survival rates.
The vaccine works by harnessing the body’s own immune system to target specific cells, called KRAS mutant cancer cells, and the pancreatic cancer patients in the study survived on average about two years and five months after receiving the vaccine.
Research leader Dr. Zev Wainberg, from the University of California, Los Angeles, said: “Pancreatic cancer (patients) still have a very high risk of the cancer coming back even after all the standard treatments, such as chemotherapy and radiation.”
“Our results show that in the group of patients with a profound immune response (17/25, 68 percent), a longer survival time in this cancer was achieved than we expected, a quite remarkable finding in a phase 1 study,” he explained.
One of the biggest problems with pancreatic cancer is that its symptoms can be “vague” and “might masquerade as other less threatening diseases,” such as irritable bowel syndrome and gallstones. “So many people won’t worry about it or go to the doctor until it’s too late,” Archbold explains.
The expert continued: “Even when they do occur, GPs don’t often recognize the signs and symptoms, so it is definitely one of the most misdiagnosed cancers.”
“Time is of the essence with pancreatic cancer,” she continues. “We encourage everyone to trust their instincts and consult a healthcare provider if they notice any unusual symptoms, no matter how minor they may seem. Early diagnosis saves lives,” she concluded.
