In 2008 an estimated 37,680 people will be diagnosed with Pancreatic Cancer in the United States. (Jemal et al. CA Cancer J Clin 58: 71-96, 2008). At the time of diagnosis, 80% of patients have locally advanced or advanced disease. Currently, there is no therapy that can offer a cure for this deadly disease. In 2010, the estimated number of new cases of pancreatic cancer in the US was 43,130 with an estimated 36,800 deaths (Jemal et al., CA Cancer J Clin. 60(5) 277-300, 2010). Worldwide it is estimated that over 278,000 patients will develop pancreatic cancer and nearly all will die from the disease (Ferlay et al., 2010; Available from: http://globocan.iarc.fr).

There are many reasons why pancreatic cancer is such an aggressive and dismal disease, yet the reasons are not commonly well known. Some risk factors associated with a higher incidence of pancreatic cancer include smoking, genetic syndromes, diabetes and a family history of pancreatic cancer. However, the majority of patients affected by pancreatic cancer do not have any of these known risk factors. Because symptoms of pancreatic cancer are difficult to spot, many pancreatic cancer patients are diagnosed at a late stage in the disease when the possibility for cure is very small. Also, after treatment, patients often have the cancer come back. Pancreatic cancer is extremely resistant to existing treatments. Pancreatic cancer research is urgently needed.

Clinical Trials

PCRT also initiates and coordinates cancer treatment studies (Clinical Trials) through a network of physicians at member and affiliated institutions. By partnering relationships with academic, clinical, and corporate entities, PCRT delivers these discoveries to the patient bedside as improved healthcare interventions. Achievement of this mission is accelerated and empowered through the refinements and breakthroughs in research techniques that span biomedical and genomic methodologies as well as computational biology.

PCRT approaches pancreatic cancer head on

PCRT is composed of members who share the passion to make advances available to their patients as rapidly as possible. These members bring tremendous clinical trials experience and cutting edge technologies to the Team. Understanding why certain patients respond to treatment while the vast majority do not, has the potential to revolutionize the treatment strategies for patients with pancreatic cancer. PCRT approaches pancreatic cancer head on and utilize the latest tools and technologies to complement the clinical evaluation process.

The ultimate cure of this disease will develop through the integration of multiple researcher efforts and strategies.

The Pancreatic Cancer Research Team (PCRT) is a non-profit organization whose goals are to improve the prognosis and quality of life of patients with pancreatic cancer, and ultimately to eradicate and cure pancreatic cancer. It is an international collaborative organization formed by several world renowned institutions and researchers. PCRT conducts clinical trials in patients with pancreatic cancer, translating genomics research into prevention, diagnosis and treatment of pancreatic cancer.