In November 2017, a study into the effectiveness of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) caught international attention for raising questions about the benefits of angioplasty and stenting. The study, Objective Randomised Blinded Investigation With Optimal Medical Therapy of Angioplasty in Stable Angina (ORBITA), concluded there was no benefit for patients with stable angina who underwent PCI.
Pancreatic adenocarcinoma (PDAC), the most common type of pancreatic cancer, is the fourth leading cause of cancer-related death in the United States. It is an extremely slow growing tumor. PDAC normally remains undetectable until late in the disease process, due in part to the physical location of the pancreas. It is situated behind the stomach at the back of the retroperitoneal space, overlaying the aorta, vena cava, and spine, deep inside the body. Because of the location of the pancreas, a computed tomography or magnetic resonance imaging scan is typically needed to detect a lesion, so it may not be discovered until the patient develop symptoms. PDACs located in the head of the pancreas may obstruct the bile duct, resulting in jaundice. Approximately 80 percent of PDAC cases present with this painless jaundice. When the lesion is located in the body or tail of the pancreas, however, the first symptom is likely to be pain associated with invasion of the spleen or stomach, occurring much later in the course of the disease.
Beyond vaccines, beyond checkpoint inhibitors, chimeric antigen receptor T-cells (CAR T-cells) are the latest form of cancer therapies aimed at reestablishing the body’s immune response to tumors. Like the Chimera of Greek mythology, a hybrid creature composed of more than one animal, CAR T-cells are molecules engineered in the laboratory using a hybrid of proteins grafted onto a patient’s T-cells. The hybrid assembly allows the CAR T-cells to carry out multiple specific functions. This engineering allows CAR T-cells to recognize specific proteins, or antigens, present on the surface of targeted cancer cells, allowing the CAR T-cells to become activated and destroy the tumor.
