Doctors have performed a world-first genetic immunotherapy treatment for pancreatic cancer, adapting immune cell techniques usually used in blood cancers to treat a solid tumor.
The process involves removing a patient’s T-cells, genetically modifying them to recognize specific features of pancreatic cancer cells, and then reinfusing them back into the body so they can target and attack the tumor.
The main goal is to shrink tumors enough to allow surgery, which could improve survival in a disease with very poor outcomes. The approach is still in early testing and is being given alongside chemotherapy. Doctors caution that it is complex, not suitable for all patients, and may cause side effects such as fever. Early results from the first treated patient are expected in the coming months.