Pancreatic Cancer Action Network (PanCAN) grantee Dung Le, MD, provided commentary in the April 2018 issue of Smithsonian Magazine. The article, “Could Immunotherapy Lead the Way to Fighting Cancer?”, examines the history and current developments in immunotherapy, a type of treatment that stimulates the body’s immune system to fight cancer.

Dung Le, MD, principal investigator behind Keytruda effectiveness in pancreatic cancer patients with high MSI

Dung Le, MD, is an associate professor of oncology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and is a member of the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center.

The article highlights Keytruda (pembrolizumab), the first drug approved by the FDA for the treatment of any solid tumor type that has a certain molecular alteration, known as high microsatellite instability (MSI). Tumors that express deficiencies in DNA mismatch repair mechanisms have also been found to respond to Keytruda.

Le, who is the principal investigator of PanCAN’s $1 million Fredman Family Foundation – Research Acceleration Network Grant, led efforts to examine Keytruda’s effectiveness in MSI-high pancreatic cancer patients.

Read about Le’s take on effective immunotherapy for pancreatic cancer patients here.

Every pancreatic tumor is different. The Pancreatic Cancer Action Network strongly recommends molecular profiling of your tumor to help determine the best treatment options.

PanCAN’s precision medicine service – Know Your Tumor® – assists eligible pancreatic cancer patients in undergoing molecular profiling that will determine their MSI status and other alterations that could improve their treatment options.

Read the full Smithsonian Magazine article.

Contact PanCAN Patient Services to learn more about Know Your Tumor, molecular profiling or any topic related to pancreatic cancer treatment or diagnosis.