Pancreatic and Hepatic Oncology Research

Pancreatic and hepatic cancers rank among the most lethal malignancies in part because they are rarely caught before they have spread, and because the dense fibrous stroma surrounding pancreatic tumors physically and chemically shields cancer cells from standard chemotherapy agents like gemcitabine. Researchers are working to understand how the tumor microenvironment — the mix of immune cells, fibroblasts, and signaling molecules that surrounds a tumor — suppresses immune responses and drives resistance to treatment, with stromal biology emerging as a key target for new therapeutic strategies. Genomic analyses have begun to reveal the mutational landscape of these cancers, raising questions about which patients might benefit from neoadjuvant therapy given before surgery to shrink tumors, and how surgical outcomes vary depending on the volume and experience of the treating hospital. Open challenges include identifying reliable early biomarkers, determining the optimal sequencing of chemotherapy and surgery, and translating preclinical insights about the microenvironment into effective immunotherapy combinations for patients with advanced disease.

Works

149,308

Total citations

2,157,704

Keywords

Pancreatic CancerSurgical ComplicationsGemcitabineTumor MicroenvironmentGenomic AnalysesChemotherapy