Elizabeth Cho

What are the difficulties with KRAS-targeted therapy in pancreas cancer?

Started Apr. 16, 2025

Abstract or project description

Pancreatic cancer remains one of the hardest cancers to treat despite advances in treatments for it. It has one of the lowest five-year survival rates of all cancers with standard-of-care chemotherapy. This motivates a need for alternative therapies to improve patient outcomes. The most common driver of pancreatic cancer is the KRAS gene, which promotes excessive cancer cell proliferation and growth when it is mutated. Therapies aiming to inhibit mutated KRAS from signaling often fail due to the development of cancer resistance. In this project I will analyze different targeted therapy treatments available for KRAS-mutated cancers and how resistance can occur. I will review several different types of resistance, including reactivation of inhibited pathways, activation of parallel pathways, and activation of downstream or upstream signaling. I will determine the best strategies to counter resistance to improve patient outcomes in the future.