Sheba Medical Center's, Dr. Talia Golan, Unveils a Potential New Treatment for Metastatic Pancreatic Cancer

Publishes Promising Results in Prestigious New England Journal of Medicine

Dr. Talia Golan, the head of Sheba Medical Center's Pancreatic Cancer Center, who has been conducting on-going research and clinical trials with Astrazeneca and MSD (Merck), two of the world's largest biopharmaceutical companies, to evaluate the safety and test the efficacy of a new drug treatment regimen known as POLO in order to treat a specific type of metastatic pancreatic cancer ( in carriers of the BRCA 1 & 2 mutation) within  patients around the globe, has reported very promising results in the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine.

"The POLO trial using the medicine Lynparza offers potential hope for those who suffer from metastatic pancreatic cancer and have a BRCA mutation," Dr. Golan revealed.  “This treatment also exemplifies the advent of 'precision medicine' based on a specific genetic biomarker, BRCA 1 & 2."

Pancreatic cancer is the 12th most common cancer worldwide, with 458,918 new cases in 2018 alone. It is the 4th leading cause of cancer death, and less than 3% of patients with metastatic disease survive more than five years after diagnosis. Early diagnosis of pancreatic cancer is difficult, as often there are no symptoms until it is too late.  Around 80% of patients are diagnosed at the metastatic stage.

What are BRCA Mutations?...

BRCA1 and BRCA2 are human genes that produce proteins responsible for repairing damaged DNA and play an important role in maintaining the genetic stability of cells. When either of these genes is mutated, or altered, such that its protein product either is not made or does not function correctly, DNA damage may not be repaired properly, and cells become unstable. As a result, cells are more likely to develop additional genetic alterations that can lead to cancer. A significant number of Ashkenazi Jews (European origin) around the world are carriers of the BRCA 1 & 2 genes.