Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, have uncovered a new method for attacking pancreatic cancer tumors.

In the growing field of immunotherapy, scientists are discovering how to steer the immune system to attack disease directly.  During a clinical trial last month, however, former Damon Runyon-Lilly Clinical Investigator Robert H. Vonderheide, MD, PhD, and his colleagues discovered a second approach.

By activating the CD40 molecule in advanced pancreatic cancer patients, the team inadvertently changed the behavior of macrophages, a type of white blood cell that often protects the tumor.  The macrophages turned on the tumor, eating away at its “scaffolding,” or supportive tissue. 

> Read the whole post: “Trojan Horse Shows Promise Against Pancreatic Cancer