Local 12 highlights Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month

Pancreatic cancer diagnoses are increasing more rapidly than any other cancer type while remaining one of the most deadly cancers. 

The American Cancer Society estimates approximately 64,000 Americans will be diagnosed with pancreatic cancer this year, and approximately 50,500 people in the U.S. will die of pancreatic cancer in 2023. While currently the third-leading cause of cancer death in the United States, pancreatic cancer is expected to become the second-leading cause of cancer death by 2030, highlighting the need for new and innovative treatments. 

During Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month in November, the University of Cincinnati's Andrew Waters, PhD, joined Local 12's What's Happening in Health program to discuss the state of pancreatic cancer research.

"Now what I'm working on, there's been milestone advancements, and we have these drugs that are going through clinical trials here in the Cincinnati area," said Waters, University of Cincinnati Cancer Center researcher and assistant professor in the UC College of Medicine’s Department of Surgery, Division of Surgical Oncology and Department of Cancer Biology. "And what I'm trying to understand is how these cells when treated with this drug kind of adapt and develop resistance to the drug. Because we know it's going to be combination therapies that are necessary to really extend the lives of pancreatic cancer patients and the efficacy of this new class of drugs in the clinic."

Waters was joined by volunteers from the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network, who raise funds to support research, including at the Cancer Center.

"Finding this disease early, if possible, will really help increase the odds. Your chance of survival goes up from 12% for five-year survival to 33% if you can find the disease early,” said Sherry Holcomb, mission chair of the local chapter of the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network.

Watch or read the Local 12 story.

Read more about Waters' research.

Featured photo at top: Researchers Krushna Patra, Andrew Waters and Patrick Krause review data. Photo/Andrew Higley/UC Marketing + Brand.