Dendritic cell therapy for pancreatic cancer
Around 3,000 people in the Netherlands are diagnosed with pancreatic cancer each year. Most are diagnosed at an advanced stage, and only a minority can undergo surgery. Current treatments remain insufficient, so effective new therapies are urgently needed.
Dendritic cells are white blood cells that teach other immune cells which cancer cells to attack. Laboratory studies showed that dendritic cell therapy can strengthen the immune response and may slow tumour growth. These findings led to approval in November 2018 for a clinical study in patients with pancreatic cancer.
The final participant entered the study in February 2020. The research team subsequently continued treatment and follow-up of the patients enrolled in the trial.