Personalised pancreatic cancer at Karolinska – PePaCaKa

Contact person

Matthias Löhr

Keywords

Personalised cancer medicine (PCM), Next generation sequencing (NGS), Pancreatic cancer, Oncology decision support software

Project description:

Because pancreatic cancer, is a medical emergency, representing a highly unmet medical need, we want to apply evidence-based individual molecular profiling to offer tailored, individualized treatment options. Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is characterized by an almost complete resistance to conventional chemo- and/or radiatiotherapy. Nevertheless, with any kind of medical treatment, a smaller number of patients seem to respond (one-year survival rates 20-30%) to a given therapy. This is most likely related to a specific genetic make-up of the individual patient’s tumor, however, hitherto unknown. We hypothesise that in a tumor such as pancreatic cancer with that many genetic aberrations, a rational anti-tumor treatment is only possible on an individual patient basis, i.e. in the light of the genetic make-up of a patient’s individual tumor. Next generation sequencing (NGS) in combination with an evidence-based software tool (TreatmentMAP/TME) will provide a basis for decision-making within the tumor board (MDT) and should result in all likelihood in tumor responses and, ultimately, in longer survival.

Internal network

• KICancerDiagnose-related network for HBP tumors
• Radiumhemmet, GI oncology group
• Science for Life Laboratory, Clinical genomics
• Dept. of Pathologyand Molecular Pathology
• Dept. of Radiology
• CLINTEC, LABMED

External associations

• Molecular Health, Heidelberg

Resources

• Biobank, Molecular Pathology, NGS at Science for life laboratory

Funding 

• Familjen Kamprads Stiftelse, Cancerfonden, KI-PCM Program (Radiumhemmets Forskningsfonder)

Selected Publications

Del Chiaro M, Verbeke CS, Albiin N, Kartalis N, Pozzi-Mucelli R, Gustafsson P, Hanson J, Haas SL, Segersvärd R, Andrén-Sandberg Å, Löhr JM, (2015): Short-term results of a Swedish screening program for individuals at risk for pancreas cancer based on MRI. JAMA Surgery, 150: 512-518.

Malgerud L, Lindberg, J, Wirta V, Liljefors-Gustavsson M, Karimi M, Fernandez-Moro C, Picker A, Del Chiaro M, Haas SL, Heuchel RL, Permert J, Brock S, Verbeke CS, Engstrand L, Jackson D, Grönberg, Löhr JM (2015): A software tool for personalized cancer medicine in pancreatic cancer. Submitted