We have a lot of good oncologists on the Monterey Peninsula but one of the cancers that is extremely difficult to treat is pancreatic. It has a five-year survival rate of only 10%. However, researchers are working on a new drug that shows promise. USA Today profiled Barbara Brigham, who was almost resigned to dying after a 2020 pancreatic cancer diagnosis. Her doctor encouraged her to join a clinical trial which was testing a new way to stimulate the immune system against cancer, and it worked! She is now living free of cancer. A gene called KRAS, mutated in many pancreatic tumors, could soon be “druggable,” says Providence Foundation oncologist Eric Tran. And there are other drugs going through the clinical trial stages which look very promising.
