AstraZeneca drug heads to phase 2 in pancreatic cancer after small trial extends survival

Pancreatic cancer cells are especially good at repairing their DNA when it’s damaged by chemotherapy and radiation, which is one reason standard treatments for the disease are often ineffective. Now, researchers from the University of Michigan Rogel Cancer Center are reporting promising results from an early trial of a drug that blocks an enzyme cancer cells need to repair their own DNA.