Dr David Herrmann

Project Summary

Pancreatic Cancer survival has remained at a standstill for the last four decades, partly due to resistance to standard treatment approaches. Immunotherapy has emerged as a powerful means to improve outcomes in several cancer types. However, there is profound room for improvement for immunotherapy in Pancreatic Cancer. Cellular metabolic problems often found in Pancreatic Cancer may be caused, in part, by the dysfunction of a neuronal signalling axis involved in the regulation of satiety and energy expenditure. Preliminary data from the researchers team at the Garvan Institute of Medical Research have revealed that inhibiting this system can impair tumour growth in other cancer types. They also found that it is strongly linked to the tumour-associated immune system. In this study, Dr David Herrmann and the Garvan team aim to dually target this signalling axis (cancer’s metabolism) and the immune system, by establishing efficient treatment schedules in a mouse model. Using this combination approach, together with cutting-edge live imaging technology and funding from the Avner Pancreatic Cancer Foundation, they hope to determine whether they can improve immunotherapy response. This project will provide important pre-clinical data to decide the clinical efficacy of this new approach for Pancreatic Cancer.