A new Pancreatic Cancer Antibody shows promise in reactivating the immune system to attack pancreatic tumors, one of the deadliest and most treatment-resistant cancers. Researchers at Northwestern Medicine discovered that tumors evade immune attack by coating themselves with a sugar that tricks immune cells into standing down.
The team developed a monoclonal antibody that blocks this “sugar shield,” allowing immune cells to recognize and destroy cancer cells in mouse models. Treated tumors grew significantly slower than untreated ones. “Seeing it work was a major breakthrough,” said study lead Mohamed Abdel-Mohsen, noting the six-year effort to uncover the mechanism and create effective antibodies.
Pancreatic cancer carries a five-year survival rate of just 13% and resists conventional immunotherapy. By targeting the sugar-coated protein integrin α3β1, the antibody interrupts signals to the immune cell receptor Siglec-10, effectively unmasking the tumor.
Researchers are now fine-tuning the antibody for human use, planning safety trials and combination therapies with chemotherapy and immunotherapy. The team also aims to identify patients whose tumors rely on this sugar-based pathway for personalized treatment.
Beyond pancreatic cancer, the discovery could impact other hard-to-treat cancers, including glioblastoma, and diseases where immune misdirection plays a role.
