Thomas Jefferson University Hospital

Traditional Herbal Medicine Kills Pancreatic Cancer Cells, Jefferson Researchers Report
(Published 5-19-2008) An herb used in traditional medicine by many Middle Eastern countries may help in the fight against pancreatic cancer, one of the most difficult cancers to treat. Researchers at the Kimmel Cancer at Jefferson in Philadelphia have found that thymoquinone, an extract of nigella sativa seed oil, blocked pancreatic cancer cell growth and killed the cells by enhancing the process of programmed cell death.

Blood Pressure Drugs Halt Pancreatic Cancer Cell Growth, Jefferson Researchers Find
(Published 4-14-2008) Researchers at the Kimmel Cancer Center at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia are inching closer to understanding how common blood pressure medications might help prevent the spread of pancreatic cancer. They have found in the laboratory that one type of pressure-lowering drug called an angiotensin receptor blocker inhibits pancreatic cancer cell growth and causes cell death.

Jefferson Scientists’ Discovery May Help Explain Smoking-Pancreatic Cancer Link
(Published 4-13-2008) If lung cancer and heart disease aren't bad enough, cigarette smokers are also at higher risk for developing, among other things, pancreatic cancer. Now, researchers at the Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson in Philadelphia have preliminary evidence indicating one possible reason why. Data being presented April 13, 2008 during the Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research shows that they have found that nicotine in cigarettes increases the production of a protein that is known to promote cancer cell survival, invasion and spread.

Jefferson, PanCAN Holding Program April 5 to Help Patients, Families and Public Learn More About Pancreatic Cancer
(Published 4-2-2008) New imaging techniques, improved early detection and screening of high-risk groups, and new therapies on the horizon have begun to change the way pancreatic cancer is viewed. It's against this background that Thomas Jefferson University, Jefferson's Kimmel Cancer Center and the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network (PanCAN), a national advocacy organization, are sponsoring a pancreatic cancer symposium on Saturday, April 5, 2008 on the Jefferson campus. The program will be held in the Dorrance H. Hamilton Building, 1001 Locust Street, beginning at 9 a.m. It is free to the public.

Jefferson Hosts Program to Help Patients and Families Learn More About Living with Cancer April 2
(Published 4-1-2008) The Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson in Philadelphia is holding a program on Wednesday, April 2, 2008 for patients, families and caregivers whose lives have been touched by cancer.

Jefferson Scientists Find Protein Helps Pancreatic Cancer Cells Hide from Immune System, Allowing Spread
(Published 1-10-2008) A protein that helps prevent a woman’s body from rejecting a fetus may also play an important role in enabling pancreatic cancer cells to evade detection by the immune system, allowing them to spread in the body.

New Jefferson Center Will Focus on Pancreatic, Biliary and Related Cancers
(Published 11-9-2007) A new center at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital now offers a multidisciplinary approach to diagnosis and treatment of pancreatic, biliary tract and other related cancers. The Jefferson Center for Pancreatic, Biliary and Related Cancers will provide patients with a focused approach to pancreatic cancer and other diseases of the pancreas, bile ducts, liver, stomach and other related upper abdominal organs.

November is National Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month!
(Published 11-1-2007) Raise Your Voice! Pancreatic cancer is the 4th leading cause of cancer deaths in the U.S., yet it receives the least amount of federal research funds among the leading cancers, and little public attention. Visit the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network (PanCAN) website to learn more.

Jefferson Scientists Find Protein May Play a Key Role in Development of Deadly Form of Pancreatic Cancer
(Published 10-11-2007) A tumor-blocking protein previously implicated in prostate and breast cancer development may also be behind the most aggressive type of pancreatic cancer. Researchers at the Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson in Philadelphia have discovered that the protein pp32 – which normally applies the brakes on a cancer-causing gene – is missing in an aggressive form of pancreatic cancer. Though the work is preliminary, the scientists say, the absent protein could eventually become a marker for the disease and a potential drug target.

Jefferson Surgery Chair Co-Authors Pancreatic Cancer Guide for Patients and Caregivers
(Published 10-4-2007) A new guide on pancreatic cancer, co-authored by the chair of Surgery at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, offers a better understanding to patients and caregivers of the unique challenges associated with a diagnosis of pancreatic cancer. Download the Guide

Webcast panelists with visiting executives from the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network (PanCAN):

Thomas Kowalski, MD, Jonathan Brody, PhD, Jeffrey Joseph, MD, Liz Thompson (Director of Research and Scientific Affairs, PanCAN), Charles J. Yeo, MD, Julie Fleshman, JD, MBA (President and CEO, PanCAN) and Donald Mitchell, MD.

Whipple Webcast at Jefferson Highlights Innovative Surgical Treatment for Pancreatic Cancer
(Published 8-27-2007) Thomas Jefferson University Hospital will host a webcast featuring a mini-Whipple procedure (pylorus preserving pancreaticoduodenectomy) used to treat pancreatic cancer. The webcast, which will feature an actual procedure and panel discussion by the Jefferson Pancreatic Cancer and Related Diseases Team, is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. ET on Tuesday, September 18.

Replay now Available

Trial Supports Use of Marker to Predict How Pancreatic Cancer Patients Do After Surgery, Jefferson Surgeon Finds
(Published 6-22-2007) A team of researchers, led by surgeons at the Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson in Philadelphia, has found further evidence supporting the ability of a protein to predict how well a patient with advanced pancreatic cancer will do after surgery, chemotherapy and radiation. The levels of the protein CA 19-9 in the blood can be used to determine the need for further therapy, they say.

Jefferson Scientist Awarded Prestigious ACS Grant to Study Use of Blood Pressure Drugs Against Cancer
(Published 6-6-2007) In 2006, researcher Hwyda Arafat, M.D., Ph.D., reported that common blood pressure medications might help block the spread of pancreatic cancer. Now, Dr. Arafat, assistant professor of surgery at Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University and at the Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson in Philadelphia, has been awarded a prestigious Research Scholar Grant from the American Cancer Society (ACS) to continue that work.

Pancreatic Surgery Riskier for Obese Patients, Jefferson Surgeon Finds
(Published 5-30-2007) Obesity may contribute to a greater likelihood of post-operative complications for patients having pancreatic surgery, a surgeon at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital has found.

Pancreatic Cancer Surgery Five-Year Survivors 65 and Up Live Nearly as Long As Anyone
(Published 1-5-2007) A new study shows that pancreatic cancer patients 65 or older who live at least five years after surgery have nearly as good a chance as anyone else to live another five years.

Pancreatic Cancer Researcher Jonathan Robert Brody, Ph.D., Joins Surgery Department at Jefferson
(Published 12-11-2006) Pancreatic cancer researcher Jonathan Robert Brody, Ph.D., has joined the Department of Surgery at Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University as assistant professor of surgery.

Blood Pressure Drugs Could Help Halt Pancreatic Cancer Spread, Jefferson Researchers Find
(Published 12-8-2006) Common blood pressure medications might help block the spread of pancreatic cancer, researchers at the Kimmel Cancer Center at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia have found. The scientists showed in laboratory studies that two types of pressure-lowering drugs – ACE inhibitors and AT1R blockers – may help reduce the development of tumor-feeding blood vessels, a process called angiogenesis. Such drugs, they say, may become part of a novel strategy to control the growth and spread of cancer.

Pancreatic Cancer Surgery Can Help Those Over 80, Jefferson Surgeons Find
(Published 6-7-06) Age doesn't necessarily have to be the deciding factor for cancer surgery, Jefferson Medical College surgeons have found. Pancreatic cancer surgeon Charles J. Yeo, M.D., Samuel D. Gross Professor and chair of surgery at Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University and Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia and Jefferson's Kimmel Cancer Center, and his colleagues studied records of pancreatic surgery during the last 35 years at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore and found that contrary to what many both in and out of medicine may believe, major pancreatic cancer surgery can successfully be performed on patients in their 80s, 90s and even older.

Improved detection, better therapies mean higher survival rates for patients with pancreatic cancer
Jefferson Conference Feb. 24, 2006 Highlights Latest Treatments, Clinical Trials, Vaccine Research
(Published 2-23-06) On Friday, February 24, 2006, pancreatic cancer experts from around the country will gather at the Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson to discuss the latest in surgery, animal models, clinical trials, treatments and immunotherapy at this year’s Scientific and Clinical Update on Pancreatic Cancer.

Johns Hopkins Pancreas Specialist and Alimentary Tract Surgeon Joins Jefferson as Chair of Surgery
(Published 9-12-05) Preeminent pancreatic cancer surgeon Charles J. Yeo, M.D., has been selected as the new Samuel D. Gross Professor and Chair of Surgery at Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University and at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, Philadelphia.