Pancreatic cancer is indeed a scary disease. This is because, when it becomes symptomatic enough to be detected and diagnosed, it has , in many cases, already disseminated, with  metastatic tumor cells invading other organs. 

Actually, it is among the most deadly forms of cancer, with an estimated five-year survival rate of around 3% once it has become metastatic, down from 44% when it is still localised, according to recent figures from the US National Cancer Institute. 

A Global Spotlight on a Silent Threat

The exponential rise in pancreatic cancer cases, particularly in industrialised nations, has prompted these leading research centres to join forces. With pancreatic cancer poised to become the second leading cause of cancer death in Europe and the USA within the next two decades, these institutions are emphasising the urgent need for enhanced public awareness about the disease.

Cancer immunotherapy is any treatment that uses our own immune system to fight cancer. There are several types of immunotherapy, some of which are already being used routinely, and others still mostly experimental. They are generally a second line of treatment, following chemotherapy, radiotherapy or surgery. 

The new programme aims to increase the detection of MPM, focusing on workers at asbestos cement factories, in Portugal, who have been exposed to asbestos since the 1960’s, and covering a total of around 200 people who have already been identified by SOS Amianto.
 

The Champalimaud Foundation, a private non-profit research institution located in Lisbon, Portugal, has achieved a significant milestone in cancer research and pre-clinical development by obtaining exclusive rights to deploy synthetic biology technologies initially licensed from Stanford University and further developed by Refuge Biotechnologies (Refuge), a pioneering synthetic biology company specialising in cancer immunotherapy.

A side-effect “is any effect of a drug, chemical, or other medicine that is in addition to its intended effect, especially an effect that is harmful or unpleasant”. 

Interview with António Parreira, Clinical Director of the Champalimaud Clinical Centre

Has there been an increase in the number of cancer cases? What is the reason for this?

We know that there has indeed been an increase. The question is to try to understand how we can, not only understand this phenomenon, but also, somehow, minimise its effects.

This phenomenon has to do with ageing. The development of cancers is one of the very direct consequences of ageing.

That said, this definition has been widening throughout the years to include potential chemopreventive substances that are not necessarily drugs. So-called “nutraceuticals”, such as dietary fiber, prebiotics, probiotics, polyunsaturated fatty acids, antioxidants (such as vitamins) and different types of herbal or natural foods (dietary supplements) are also being studied for cancer chemoprevention. However, to date, the efficacy of these substances has not been confirmed.

In CheckUp #14, we talked about the different types of cancer treatments with ionizing radiation: internal and external radiotherapies. We promised we would return to this subject to talk in more detail about a special type of internal radiotherapy: molecular radiotherapy. This activity is integrated in Nuclear Medicine, a medical specialty that, in Oncology, uses radiopharmaceuticals to diagnose, treat, and evaluate the response of cancers to existing or new drugs.

The Champalimaud Foundation has an experimental robot called Wingy, which runs Chat GPT and is expected one day to be able to greet patients who come to its Clinical Centre. But will Wingy replace the people currently in charge of that job?, asked Pedro Garcia da Silva, neuroscientist and Scientific Coordinator at Champalimaud Research, during his talk at the Champalimaud Cancer Nurse Conference, which took place at the Foundation on May 19th.