With a survival rate in the single digits, pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is highly lethal. In fact, by the time PDAC is clinically diagnosed, it is already considered incurable via surgery or other means in up to 90% of patients.
Yangzom D. Bhutia, D.V.M., Ph.D., from the Department of Cell Biology and Biochemistry at the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center (TTUHSC) School of Medicine, has for years focused her research on PDAC. To bolster her efforts, the National Cancer Institute at the National Institutes of Health recently awarded Bhutia a five-year, $1.76 million grant (“SLC6A14 as a unique drug target to treat pancreatic cancer”) to investigate potential novel treatments for this often-silent killer.
“With this grant, we will focus on the amino acid transporter known as SLC6A14, also known as ATB0,+, and its relevance to PDAC,” Bhutia said. “SLC6A14 is significantly upregulated in PDAC and therefore we want to use it as a drug target to potentially treat pancreatic cancer. I also would like to specifically thank Dr. Patrick Reynolds, director of the TTUHSC School of Medicine Cancer Center, for giving me an opportunity to be a part of the CPRIT-TREC (Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas – Texas Regional Excellence in Cancer) grant. This grant was highly instrumental in furthering my research in SLC6A14 and pancreatic cancer, which ultimately led to its