OHSU pancreas cancer expert Brett Sheppard, M.D., and his colleagues in the OHSU Oregon Stem Cell Center, have developed antibodies that recognize pancreas cancer; Sheppard is presenting these findings this week during Digestive Disease Week in San Diego.

This week scientists in the Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) Oregon Stem Cell Center and the OHSU Digestive Health Center are shining a new ray of hope on patients with pancreas cancer. They've developed new reagents, or antibodies, that can recognize this often lethal disease. This important discovery may one day lead to earlier detection and therapy.

The new antibodies recognize a small number of normal pancreas cells, specifically cells involved in the transport of enzymes out of the pancreas, but recognize a number of more cells in pancreas cancer tissue. In addition to recognizing pancreas cancer, these antibodies recognize gastrointestinal cancers.

"The next step is to use these antibodies in a sensitive screening test to determine their full potential in diagnosis of this devastating disease," said Brett Sheppard, M.D., study co-investigator and pancreas cancer surgeon in the OHSU Digestive Health Center.

Sheppard, who also is professor and vice chairman of surgery in the OHSU School of Medicine and member of the OHSU Cancer Institute, will present these findings this week at Digestive Disease Week 2008 (Abstract No. 1838: "Development of Monoclonal Antibodies to Aid in the Diagnosis of Pancreatic Cancer").

Today just 15 percent of pancreas cancer cases are detected early enough to qualify for a potential cure. Unfortunately, the signs and symptoms of the disease do not commonly appear until the cancer is in advanced stages, when surgery - currently the best and only therapy for pancreas cancer - is no longer an option.

This adverse set of circumstances is compounded by the fact that pancreas cancer is not common enough to justify routine screening in the general population, and there are no screening blood tests or radiologic procedures sensitive enough to detect it early on. As a result, today pancreas cancer is the fourth-leading cause of cancer death in the United States.

Eager to devise an earlier means of detection and save more lives, Philip Streeter, Ph.D., lead investigator on the study and director of the monoclonal antibody resource facility in the OHSU Oregon Stem Cell Center, along with Sheppard and his colleagues generated and characterized antibodies, which were developed following the injection of normal pancreas cells into mice. They next took the spleen cells of the mice and fused them with a myeloma cell line, which yields cells that can be grown for long periods of time in the laboratory. These cells secreted antibodies that the scientists were then able to screen for reaction with normal pancreatic and pancreas cancer tissues.

"The primary goal of the antibody resource facility is to develop novel reagents which will positively impact research in the broad field of stem cell biology, including basic studies of stem cells, developmental biology, tissue regeneration and repair, and disease diagnosis and treatment. We hope that the new antibodies introduced in San Diego will allow early detection and therapy of pancreas cancer," said Streeter, who also is an associate professor of medicine (hematology/medical oncology) in the OHSU School of Medicine and a member of the OHSU Cancer Institute.

In addition to research with these new antibodies, Sheppard and his colleagues have established the Oregon Pancreas Tumor Registry, which is intended to keep patients at high risk for pancreas cancer under surveillance, with the goal of early diagnosis. The registry also acts as a biospecimen repository in which patients and families may provide blood, pancreatic ductal fluid and tissue samples. Scientists may then use the samples for pancreas cancer research.


Posted by: Andria    Source

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