UCLA, Cedars-Sinai, & UCSC researchers received $5.75M grant to help study role of obesity in development of pancreatic cancer

According to UCLA, a team of researchers from the UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center and peer institutions has been awarded a $5.75 million grant from the National Cancer Institute to study the correlation between obesity, inflammation and pancreatic cancer. The scientists hope their findings may help people avoid getting this cancer.

“We know that the biological mechanisms of obesity, such as inflammation, can lead to the development of pancreatic cancer,” said Dr. Guido Eibl, professor-in-residence in the department of surgery at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and a Jonsson Cancer Center researcher. “This study will help us better understand not only how those mechanisms influence the formation of pancreatic tumors but also how we can develop preventions that help people who are at a higher risk for this cancer.”

The recent press release reports that the five-year study will be structured into three projects, with participating researchers from Cedars–Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles and the University of California, San Diego, joining the team at UCLA. Each project’s leader is highly experienced in the study of pancreatic cancer.

Read more about each phase of the study here!