55KRC highlights Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month

The University of Cincinnati Cancer Center's Davendra Sohal, MD, joined 55KRC's Simply Medicine radio show and podcast to discuss Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month.

Sohal said pancreatic cancer is often diagnosed late because its symptoms are non-specific, such as an upset stomach or digestive issues that everyone has from time to time. The specific causes of pancreatic cancer are also not well defined, although smoking and obesity have been identified as risk factors.

The Cancer Center has a portfolio of clinical trials for a variety of stages of pancreatic cancer. An early-stage trial is testing the effectiveness of a "modern, adaptive" form of chemotherapy designed to maximize the chance of cure through surgery, Sohal said.

Other trials include testing an experimental drug for late-stage pancreatic cancer funded by the FDA, and the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network's Precision Promise national trial testing new drugs in combination with chemotherapy.

"So for anyone with any stage of pancreatic cancer, please consider a second opinion, please consider clinical trials with us at the University of Cincinnati Cancer Center," said Sohal, associate director for clinical research and codirector of the GI Cancers Center of Excellence at the Cancer Center and director of experimental therapeutics and professor of medicine in the UC College of Medicine's Division of Hematology/Oncology.

Listen to the Simply Medicine segment. (Note: Dr. Sohal's interview begins around 13:22 mark.)

Featured photo at top of pancreatic cancer cell courtesy of the National Cancer Institute/Unsplash.