I am impressed to learn that lobbyists in America are campaigning for the creation of a Pancreatic Cancer Research and Education Act which would ensure the development of a strategy for early diagnosis and treatment to increase the survival rates for pancreatic cancer patients.

Pancreatic Cancer Action Network advocates have met with members of Congress in Washington to lobby them to pass or co-sponsor the Pancreatic Cancer Research and Education Act. Julie Fleshman, President and CEO of the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network,  explains why they need this legislation.

“For 40 years, the survival rate for pancreatic cancer has remained in the single digits–despite an increase in the incidence of the disease, despite the fact that it is the fourth leading cause of cancer death and at a time when significant progress has been made on other cancers. The survival rate for pancreatic cancer has remained relatively the same because the federal government’s approach to pancreatic cancer has been relatively the same–provide a trickle of research funding as a response to a river of need.”

Campaigners say this disease is severely under-researched and under-funded. Unlike many cancers, there are no early detection tools or effective treatments for pancreatic cancer. They say part of the problem is that the National Cancer Institute allocates approximately 2% of its $5 billion budget for pancreatic cancer research, and according to the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network’s new report “Pancreatic Cancer: A trickle of federal funding for a river of need. Why survival rates for pancreatic cancer have remained in the single digits for 40 years,” pancreatic cancer is behind in nearly every important grant mechanism funded by the NCI.

I wish this group every success, but am mindful that research for disease discovery must be done collaboratively with the best researchers around the world who share the same strong passions for an early biomarker discovery of pancreatic cancer to help save lives, such as Abcodia, a biomarker validation company which has exclusive commercialisation rights to a biobank with more than 5 million serum samples.

Among the 202,000 volunteers who donated serum, more than 300 subjects developed pancreatic cancer, and, crucially, all donated samples before diagnosis. Detailed histology and pathology reports for each volunteer is available, and demographic and phenotypic data.

Sadly, the five year survival rate for pancreatic cancer is less than 4% and has not improved in 30 years. Early diagnosis is vital to help sufferers like Deep Purple musician Jon Lord (pic), who recently died.

It will be interesting to see if the Pancreatic Cancer Research and Education Act is passed in America. Should campaigners in the UK be lobbying our government for a similar strategy?