Wings of Hope for Pancreatic Cancer Research

URGENT NEED FOR FOCUSED PANCREATIC CANCER RESEARCH

The best hope for beating pancreatic cancer is through research. The University of Colorado Cancer Center’s Pancreatic Cancer Research Program is in an elite group of physicians treating patients with pancreatic cancer. What sets them apart is their multidisciplinary approach to patient treatment. This endeavor is exemplified by the multidisciplinary pancreas cancer clinic during which a treatment plan is developed for an individual patient only after review by a team of physicians from the disciplines of medical oncology, surgical oncology, radiation oncology, pathology, radiology and interventional gastroenterology.

It is here that pancreatic cancer patients have access to the most advanced treatments, physicians who provide the highest levels of patient care and an extensive and ongoing clinical trial program.

Biologically unique from other cancers in the opinion of many scientists due to the anatomical location of the pancreas and the pancreatic cancer tumor’s uniqueness, treating this disease requires focused research that to date has been minimal, fragmented and underfunded. Decades of research advancements in lung, breast and other cancers have not translated into clinical benefits for the treatment of pancreatic cancer.

WINGS of HOPE for PANCREATIC CANCER RESEARCH is dedicated to raising awareness and funding for the focused, sustained and specific pancreatic cancer research efforts currently ongoing at the University of Colorado Cancer Center’s Pancreatic Cancer Research Program.

It is the research that will advance the treatments and lead us to a cure.

IMPORTANCE OF CLINICAL TRIALS FOR PANCREATIC CANCER

Effective treatments for those diagnosed with pancreatic cancer is dependent on more patients and physicians participating in clinical trials.

In 2011, 1,724 pancreatic cancer patients participated in clinical trials throughout the United States. This represents approximately just 4% of pancreatic cancer patients. Though this is slightly more when compared to the national 3% clinical trial participation average for all adult cancers, it is woefully low for the research and advancements needed for major breakthroughs in this relentless disease.

In order to raise the number of patients participating in clinical trials, it is imperative that sound clinical trials are available to test new approaches for pancreatic cancer detection and therapy.

The Pancreatic Cancer Research Program at University of Colorado Hospital is second to none in providing the highest quality multidisciplinary care for pancreatic cancer patients, while at the same time conducting innovative and comprehensive research.

The high quality of patient care is a result of their providing the most advanced medical therapies and opportunities for participation in clinical trials, with the goal being to improve survival and quality of life. The physicians involved in the University of Colorado Pancreatic Cancer Research Program are working to find better therapies, more accurate diagnosis and screening procedures in order to detect pancreatic cancer in its earliest stages.

PANCREATIC CANCER FACTS, STATISTICS and EFFORTS

• Pancreatic cancer is the 4th leading cause of cancer death in the United States.
• By 2020 it is projected pancreatic cancer will rise to the 2nd leading cause of cancer death in the United States.
• Pancreatic cancer is the only major cancer that continues to have a 5-year relative survival rate in the single digits, at just 6 percent.
• The 6 percent 5-year survival rate has remained unchanged for the last 40 years.
• Pancreatic cancer will strike more than 43,000 Americans this year, 74% of whom will die within a year of diagnosis.
• While overall cancer incidence and death rates are declining, the incidence of and death rate for pancreatic cancer have been increasing.
• The number of new pancreatic cancer cases is projected to increase by 55% over the next 20 years.
• There are currently no broadly accepted early detection tools.
• Effective pancreatic cancer treatments remain limited but stand to improve with the incorporation of biologically targeted therapy.