New drug created at Northwestern helps pancreatic cancer patients live longer, oncologist says
By Leah Hope
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CHICAGO (WLS) — A drug trial at Northwestern Medicine offers hopeful results to those with pancreatic cancer.
GI Oncologist Dr. Deva Mahalingam is the lead author for research published on Tuesday. He reports that the drug Elraglusib was created at Northwestern, and when patients received the drug with chemotherapy, they lived longer.
“This drug was a positive trial in a very difficult to treat cancer,” Mahalingam said.
Mahalingam explained that cancer in the pancreas is usually only discovered when it is advanced to stage 4. He says Elraglusib seems to allow chemo drugs to be more effective. And those who had the drug lived beyond the original diagnosis for stage 4 pancreatic cancer, which, he says, is often only six to eight months to live.
“It’s slowing the growth of these cancers. It’s still not a cure, but it’s allowing patients to live longer compared to just being on the chemotherapy alone,” Mahalingam said.
Donna Husar was married to her husband, Matthew, 32 years. She remembers those difficult times of getting the diagnosis, prognosis, and then, the possibilities of the trial. She says he lived for two years after he started the trial.
“I’m so grateful that we did, but it was really scary not knowing, but it gave us hope, and that was all we could ask for,” Husar said. “We tried to do the most we could with the time he had, and how he was feeling, there were days he wasn’t feeling so well. But overall, he was pretty good.”
Mahalingam says he is eager to do confirmation trials and hopes those with pancreatic cancer could have access to the drug in two years.
“Hopefully, in the next few years, we can show survival is improving, give patients more time with their family,” Mahalingam said.
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