Disproportionate Rise In Pancreatic Cancer Among Young Women Highlights High Unmet Need To Find Safe, Effective Treatments – Is Hope On The Horizon?

In 2023, television personality Maria Menounos acknowledged that she had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Fortunately for Menounos, physicians detected the rare, less aggressive form of the disease when it was still in an early stage.

Pancreatic cancer is one of the least survivable forms of the disease. According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), pancreatic cancer is currently the third leading cause of cancer-related deaths in America. Furthermore, Menounos's case is part of a disturbing trend.

Incidents of pancreatic cancer are increasing, with the number of cases in women under the age of 55 rising at a disproportionate rate compared to men.

Pancreatic Cancer Is Difficult To Find And Painful To Treat

When it is in the early stages, pancreatic cancer usually offers no clearly-identifiable symptoms. The types of screens suggested for breast cancer or colon cancer don't exist for pancreatic cancer, and there is no single diagnostic test to detect it.

According to Johns Hopkins University, a clear diagnosis typically emerges only after an extensive series of imaging scans, blood tests and biopsies. Since these tests are generally conducted only after symptoms are felt, an initial diagnosis often reveals that the cancer is in an advanced stage that has spread to other organs.

As a result, most patients tend to get a relatively aggressive form of chemotherapy. The combination of drugs used can often result in severe side effects. However, that may change as a result of work being conducted in current clinical trials.

A Novel Approach To Treat Pancreatic Cancer Holds Promise

Rockville, Maryland-based Theriva Biologics TOVX is currently in a phase 2b trial with patients diagnosed with metastatic pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). Theriva is a leader in the development of oncolytic virus therapies – treating cancer with viruses that target tumors.

Theriva's lead therapy candidate is VCN-01, a highly differentiated oncolytic adenovirus that replicates and destroys cancer tissue. The trial is studying the use of VCN-01 in combination with two forms of chemotherapy drugs.

Oncolytic virus therapies target specific genes or proteins involved in the disease process to block or alter their activity and ultimately halt or reverse disease progression. The goal is to help patients live longer with less severe side effects. Theriva's trial results so far appear promising.

"We believe VCN-01's differentiated mechanism of action has the potential to address the urgent need for new treatment options for patients with PDAC by degrading the tumor matrix and increasing tumor access," said Steven Shallcross, Theriva's CEO.

The company's current clinical trial is studying a combination of VCN-01 with a drug that mimics some of the building blocks of RNA and DNA to disrupt a cancer cell's ability to make proteins (Gemcitabine) and one that includes a human protein to stop cancer cells from dividing and multiplying (nab-Paclitaxel).

The NIH notes that gemcitabine has been the standard first-line treatment for advanced pancreatic cancer for 15 years and is often used in combination with nab-paclitaxel as first-line treatment for pancreatic cancer.

Theriva's Shallcross noted that repeated systemic dosing of VCN-01 with this standard-of-care chemotherapy is feasible from a safety perspective.

"We have shown that the combination has an acceptable safety profile, and can now focus on whether the repeated-dose VCN-01 regimen may lead to improved clinical outcomes for patients with PDAC and other solid cancers," he said.

Studying Pancreatic Cancer Offers Challenges, And The Need Is Large

According to gastrointestinal oncologist Mridula Krishnan, MBBS, "Pancreatic cancer is not an easy cancer to study and, especially when it comes to gender-related studies, it's very tough to find answers."

This is part of what makes Theriva's work so important. The company believes that its oncolytic viruses are particularly well-positioned for use with other therapies to help pancreatic cancer patients achieve improved outcomes with fewer negative side effects.

Mr. Shallcross noted that there is a "high unmet need" and that the company is continuing "to build a portfolio of potentially improved therapeutic combinations for PDAC patients."

According to DataBridge Market Research, that high unmet need is estimated to reach more than $6.2 billion by 2029.

Theriva Biologics is also exploring the potential of VCN-01 as a possible candidate as part of other chemotherapy combinations to treat pediatric refractory retinoblastoma and adult ovarian cancer.

Featured photo by  PublicDomainPictures on Pixabay.

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