Extending treatment success in pancreatic and bowel cancers

Background

Colorectal (or bowel) and pancreatic cancer are the second and third leading causes of death from cancer in Australia, after lung cancer. Patients with advanced bowel and pancreatic cancers are often treated with drugs that inhibit the activity of a protein (Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor, or EGFR) that allows cancer cells to communicate with each other, helping them to multiply and spread. This treatment is effective at shrinking tumours and halting cancer spread, but its effectiveness doesn’t last. For many patients, the treatment will eventually begin to fail, and the cancer will begin growing and spreading once again. 

The research

A/Prof Griffin and his team have been studying another protein receptor (called cytokine interleukin, or IL11) that they believe works with EGFR to help cancer cells communicate with each other. The team has shown that the presence of IL11 is increased in pancreatic and bowel cancers and that it plays a crucial role in cancer progression and the failure of treatment by EGFR inhibitors. 

In the lab, A/Prof Griffin and his team have developed antibodies that inhibit the activity of IL11. In this project, the team will test if these antibodies can extend the effectiveness of treatment with EGFR inhibitors for pancreatic and bowel cancers.