Dr. Bendell on using OMP-59R5 to treat Pancreatic Cancer

Johanna Bendell, MD, director of GI Cancer Research Program, associate director, Drug Development Program, Sarah Cannon Research Institute, discusses the anti-cancer stem cell antibody OMP-59R5 as a treatment option for patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer.

Bendell says there are many new advances for patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer. At first, there were advances in chemotherapy regimens but the focus has shifted to targeted agents.

At the 2014 Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium in San Francisco, data was presented on OMP-59R5 in combination with nab-paclitaxel and gemcitabine for patients with untreated metastatic pancreatic cancer. Bendell says this agent targets the stem cells that stay living in pancreatic cancer even after the cancer has been attacked with chemotherapy. These stem cells are important to target as they repopulate cancer cells.