Aided by $49,000 in seed funding from the Ron Foley Foundation of West Hartford, researchers at Western Connecticut Health Network have announced an innovative study designed to yield insights into how to detect and treat pancreatic cancer.
“We have developed a unique platform for analyzing non-coding RNA molecules in our laboratory,” said Cristiano Ferlini, director of medical research at the Western Connecticut Health Network Biomedical Research Institute and Chief of Cancer Research. “Thanks to the Ron Foley Foundation, we will study changes over time in ncRNA in blood samples donated by pancreatic cancer patients at Danbury and Norwalk Hospitals. Pancreatic cancer is one of the most lethal malignancies and we are eager to explore a novel approach to detecting it.”
The study will be the first study to of its kind and could lead to the early diagnosis of this form of cancer, determine which patients will benefit most from chemotherapy and help to determine how well patients respond to treatment, according to a statement by the health network.
Eighty percent of patients with pancreatic cancer in the U.S. die within a year after their diagnosis. At present, there are no blood tests or radiological scans that can detect this cancer at its early stages, and it is extremely difficult to determine how well patients respond to treatment, according to the health network.
The study is being conducted by a team led by Richard Frank, director of clinical cancer research at Norwalk Hospital”™s Whittingham Cancer Center, and Ferlini.
“This study exemplifies what is unique about the bench-to-bedside research conducted at WCHN, because it is based on unusually close collaboration between clinicians and basic scientists,” said Frank. “The idea for this research originated after discussions between Dr. Ferlini ”“ one of the world”™s leading experts on non-coding RNA ”“ and me, an oncologist who knows first-hand how difficult it is to treat pancreatic cancer. Our ultimate goal is to develop new tools to detect pancreatic cancer in its early stages and improve the treatment and management of this disease.”
