Title:Reversing immune suppression in pancreatic cancer

In 2025, there were an estimated 67,440 new cases of pancreatic cancer diagnosed in the U.S. and an estimated 51,980 deaths, making it the third leading cause of cancer deaths in the country with a five-year survival rate of 13 percent.

However, research at Georgetown’s Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center is helping scientists outline how to improve outcomes in pancreatic cancer. Through insight from cell and mouse experiments, researchers have discovered that when pancreatic cancer cells send out tiny particles that are packed with certain microRNA molecules, nearby immune cells called macrophages are reprogrammed to help the tumor grow instead of engaging in their usual role of fighting the tumor.

“Our approach focuses on blocking adverse outcomes of microRNA-based communication between pancreatic cancer cells and immune cells,” says Georgetown professor Amrita Cheema, senior author of the study. “By disrupting these channels of communication, we could reprogram the immune cells and restore their ability to fight cancer.”

The study appeared in the January 2026 issue of the Nature journal Signal Transduction and Targeted Therapy.