Alcohol Linked to Pancreatic Cancer Risk
http://www.medpagetoday.com/HematologyOncology/OtherCancers/13098 (includes audio clip)
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-03/gumc-grt022509.php

Harvard School of Public Health researchers report that a daily drinking habit may modestly increase the risk of
pancreatic cancer. The risk was 22% higher (95% CI 3% to 45%) for individuals who had two or more drinks a day than
for nondrinkers. Although risk rose gradually with intake (P=0.05 for trend), fewer than two drinks a day did not affect
pancreatic cancer rates significantly in multivariate analysis of primary data from more than 860,000 men and women in
14 prospective studies.

University of Michigan Researchers ID Gene Involved in Pancreatic Cancer
http://www2.med.umich.edu/prmc/media/newsroom/details.cfm?ID=1058
University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center researchers report they have identified a gene that is over
expressed in 90% of pancreatic cancers. Expression of the gene called ATDC is on average 20 times higher in
pancreatic cancer cells than in cells from a normal pancreas. ATDC appears to make pancreatic cancer cells resistant to
current therapies.

Use of Northfield’s PolyHeme® Mitigates Tumor Progression in Pancreatic Cancer Model
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-northfield-labs-polyheme-mar5,0,808761.story
Researchers from the University of Colorado at Denver/Denver Health Medical Center, Bonfils Blood Center in Denver,
and University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas have demonstrated that the use of Northfield’s human
polymerized hemoglobin (PolyHeme®) significantly reduces metastases and primary tumor growth in a mouse model of
pancreatic cancer. The authors suggest that the use of PolyHeme in lieu of red blood cells may prolong survival in
patients with pancreatic cancer who require transfusions.

Cancer's Growth Fueled by Transfusions
http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_11963092
This study reports that cancerous tumors grew four times as fast in mice that received blood transfusions compared with
mice that received a manufactured substitute for red blood cells. It's unclear exactly why donated blood makes tumors
grow faster, but researchers suspect it has to do with a weakening of the immune system after a transfusion. This
research gives a boost to polymerized hemoglobin, a blood substitute marketed under the name PolyHeme.

Optical Techniques Show Continued Promise in Detecting Pancreatic Cancer
http://www.upi.com/Science_News/2009/03/02/Technique_may_spot_early_pancreatic_cancer/UPI-91891236022840/
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-pancreatic-cancerfeb23,0,2059512.story
Northwestern University researchers report that they created a technique that can detect the early development of
pancreatic cancer. The optical technology uses an analysis of adjacent tissue in the duodenum to detect the presence of
pancreatic cancer. Results are published in the journal Disease Markers.

Study Sheds Light on Angiogenesis Inhibitors, Points to Limitations, Solutions
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/03/090302133306.htm
UCSF researchers report that angiogenesis inhibitors, cancer drugs designed to starve tumors of their blood supply,
succeed at first, but then promote more invasive cancer growth, sometimes with a higher incidence of metastases. Dr.
Douglas Hanahan, PhD, professor of biochemistry and biophysics at UCSF and co-senior author on the paper remarks
that, “a well vascularized tumor is well fed and happy. It has no driving force to become more invasive.” He and his
colleagues hypothesize from the mouse models that if the tumor’s blood supply is cut off that this drives the cancer to
become more invasive as it seeks more oxygen and nutrients. Dr. Hanahan is a 2007 Pancreatic Cancer Action Network
Pilot Grant recipient.

Scans May be Able to Tell in Days if Chemotherapy Works
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29513672/
Memorial Sloan Kettering researchers are exploring a new use for medical imaging that could reveal within a few days of
the patient’s treatment whether chemotherapy is working. This experimental imaging relies on PET scans and a different
tracer substance. When used together to assess the effects of cancer treatment, it can reveal information about what the
therapy is doing to a tumor even when there's no outward sign.

Study Links Blood Type and Pancreatic Cancer
http://harvardscience.harvard.edu/medicine-health/articles/blood-type-study-sheds-light-biology-pancreatic-cancer
http://www.forbes.com/feeds/hscout/2009/03/10/hscout624862.html
Researchers at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute report that individuals with type O blood have a much lower risk of
developing pancreatic cancer, a finding that might help explain the origins of the disease. The study found that the
chances of developing pancreatic cancer were greater for people with a blood type other than O: 32% higher for those
with type A blood, 51% greater for type AB and 72% higher for type B.
Tiny Samples Could Yield Big Predictive Markers for Pancreatic Cancer
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-03/fccc-tsc031009.php
A handful of proteins may one day help doctors distinguish between a harmless lesion in the pancreas and a potentially
deadly one, say researchers at Fox Chase Cancer Center. The researchers believe that these protein biomarkers, if
confirmed in subsequent studies, could represent reliable indicators of pancreatic cancer or precancerous pancreatic
lesions, which would allow for earlier, perhaps more successful, treatment.

Neoadjuvant Chemoradiation May Permit Resection in Patients with Borderline Resectable Disease
http://www.docguide.com/news/content.nsf/news/852571020057CCF685257573007997A0
According to data presented at the Society of Surgical Oncology 62nd Annual meeting, neoadjuvant therapy of patients
with borderline resectable pancreatic adenocarcinoma may help change the disease stage and help identify patients who
are likely to benefit from pancreatic resection. Lead author Dr. Jayme B. Stokes from the University of Virginia reported
there is a subset of patients who would not otherwise be able to undergo resection but, if treated preoperatively with
radiation and chemotherapy, half of those patients could then go on to pancreatic resection with a survival benefit that
comes along with resection of the cancer.

Multimodal Therapy Optimizes Survival in Pancreatic Cancer
http://www.docguide.com/news/content.nsf/news/852571020057CCF685257574005CA34C
Karyn B. Stitzenberg, MD, MPH, of Fox Chase Cancer Center reported at the Society of Surgical Oncology 62nd Annual
meeting on a retrospective outcome review of 209 patients who underwent pancreatic resections for pancreatic
adenocarcinoma between 1996 and 2006. Forty-four percent of patients (92/209) underwent chemotherapy and/or
chemoradiotherapy prior to resection. Survival was compared for patients who received neoadjuvant chemotherapy
and/or chemoradiotherapy and those who received surgery first. The surgery-first group included patients who had
received surgery alone and those who had received surgery followed by chemotherapy and/or chemoradiotherapy. A
substantial proportion of the patients treated with surgery first never receive adjuvant therapy," noted Dr. Stitzenberg. In
the surgery-first group, only 79% received chemotherapy and/or chemoradiation afterward.

Pancreatic Cancer Not a Death Sentence
http://savannahnow.com/node/685834
Pancreatic cancer survivor Scott Zeberlein is featured in this article along with PanCAN Affiliate Coordinator Jane Miller
and Zeberlein’s physician, Dr. Steven T. Brower, director of cancer surgery at Memorial University Medical Center in
Savannah, Georgia. Brower estimates that he and surgeons Dr. James Garber and Chris Senkowski perform 20
pancreas surgeries per year. Brower acknowledges pancreatic cancer surgery should be done by high-volume
surgeons; in Brower’s opinion 20 pancreas surgeries per year merits high volume status.

Pfizer’s Phase III Sutent Trial Stopped Early; Drug Shows Definite Benefit in Pancreatic Islet Cell Cancer
http://www.pfizer.com/news/press_releases/pfizer_press_releases.jsp?rssUrl=http://mediaroom.pfizer.com/portal/site/pfiz
er/index.jsp?ndmViewId=news_view&ndmConfigId=1016273&newsId=20090312005308&newsLang=en
http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSTRE52B3SD20090312
Pfizer’s late-stage clinical study in Sutent (Sunitinib, SU011248) was halted early after the drug showed significant benefit
in patients with advanced pancreatic islet cell tumors. An independent committee monitoring the study recommended
halting it after concluding that patients on Sutent stayed free of disease progression for longer than those on placebo plus
best supportive care.