Research Abstract
While overall cancer incidence and death rates are declining, the incidence and death rates for pancreatic cancer are increasing. Pancreatic cancer is projected to become the second leading cause of cancer-related death in the United States around 2020. While surgery offers the best chance for survival, fewer than 20 percent of pancreatic cancer cases are diagnosed early enough for surgical intervention. Even with surgery, the disease recurs in approximately 80 percent of these patients, who die within five years of recurrence. Our research efforts focus on early detection of pancreatic cancer as well as new investigational approaches employing organoids to explore the potential of new drugs in the treatment of advanced disease.