Pancreatic cancer: Biontech reports initial successes with “vaccination”

Pancreatic cancer is one of the most common cancers in Austria, along with colon, prostate, lung and breast cancer. Initially, pancreatic cancer causes few symptoms. The first signs are usually general and non-specific complaints, which can also have a number of other causes. These are therefore often not associated with pancreatic cancer. However, late diagnosis and an advanced stage of the disease limit therapy enormously and contribute to an unfavorable prognosis. A new form of treatment is now fueling hope: The Mainz-based company Biontech, known for developing the first vaccine against Corona approved in the EU, has reported success in the fight against this cancer.

Longer survival as a goal

The cancer patients are treated with the newly developed vaccine BNT122. According to information from the company, this elicited an immune response three years after treatment in eight of 16 patients whose tumors were previously surgically removed. This was measured based on the activated T cells, which essentially kill the cancer. These “killer cells” have been linked to longer survival without relapse, the company said in a press release. In this way, remaining tumor foci would be destroyed and the recurrence of the disease would be prevented. This means that half of the patients treated survived for a long period of time without developing a new pancreatic tumor.

Surgery improves chances

90 percent of people diagnosed with pancreatic cancer die within two years of diagnosis. The prognosis for those affected is not good – especially since the diagnosis is often only made at an advanced stage. Surgical removal and chemotherapy improve the chances.

But here too the survival rate is only around 20 percent. Several approaches to the disease are being researched. The Biontech vaccination is considered a hopeful approach. In Austria there are 1,500 new cases every year; the average age of onset is between 70 and 75 years. (bar)