One cancer research institute and charity created by the late Dame Olivia Newton-John announced that they discovered possibly a new treatment for pancreatic cancer.
As the director of the Melbourne-based ONJ Cancer Research Institute, Professor Matthias Ernst headed up a recent study that ended up being published, this past Wednesday, in the Cell Reports scientific journal.
Highlighting that the study was still in the primary stages and has not yet taken part in human trials, he noted that his group of researchers will be able to push quickly to human trials once they are prepared for them, stating, “Because we work in the same building as our oncologist colleagues at Austin Health, our discoveries in the laboratory can be quickly translated into patient trials.”
The study kicked off by stating, “Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is an aggressive disease with a low 5-year survival rate and is associated with poor response to therapy.”
When it comes to PDAC, the formation of the cellular components of blood speeding up chemical reactions throughout the body specific to bone marrow is elevated, dropping the survival rate of patients. However, by introducing an immune-stimulatory endotype to the cells of the body’s bone marrow, the process then dropped the formation of excessive connective tissue surrounding invasive carcinoma which was infiltrating other cells.
This process resulting in reducing metastasis, helped along the effect of chemotherapy, and ended up making it much easier for anti-PD1, anti-CTLA4, or stimulatory anti-CD40 immunotherapy to pay off.
A few years after her diagnosis of breast cancer, Newton-John stated, “In 1992, I was diagnosed with breast cancer. The diagnosis came the same weekend my father died of cancer, so you can imagine the shock. I learned very quickly how important it was for me to think positively. When the second friend I called with the news burst into tears, I thought — this too stressful. I had to find someone else to handle the day to day discussions of my health so I could concentrate on healing.”
“I underwent a partial mastectomy, chemotherapy and breast reconstruction,” she went on. “I did herbal formulas, meditation and focused on a vision of complete wellness. I also believe that when you go through something difficult, even something as dramatic as cancer, that something positive will come of it.”
These events inspired her to create the Olivia Newton-John Cancer Wellness & Research Centre (ONJ Centre) to assist in the battle against cancer.
Newton-John died on August 8 at the age of 73.
