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TED, Laura Indolfi: Good news in the fight against pancreatic cancer

Laura Indolfi: Good news in the fight against pancreatic cancer

0:13By raising your hand, how many of you know at least one person on the screen? Wow, it's almost a full house. It's true, they are very famous in their fields. And do you know what all of them have in common?They all died of pancreatic cancer. However, although it's very, very sad this news, it's also thanks to their personal stories that we have raised awareness of how lethal this disease can be.

0:39It's become the third cause of cancer deaths, and only eight percent of the patients will survive beyond five years. That's a very tiny number, especially if you compare it with breast cancer, where the survival rate is almost 90 percent. So it doesn't really come as a surprise that being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer means facing an almost certain death sentence. What's shocking, though, is that in the last 40 years, this number hasn't changed a bit, while much more progress has been made with other types of tumors. So how can we make pancreatic cancer treatment more effective? As a biomedical entrepreneur,I like to work on problems that seem impossible, understanding their limitations and trying to find new, innovative solutions that can change their outcome.

1:32The first piece of bad news with pancreatic cancer is that your pancreas is in the middle of your belly, literally. It's depicted in orange on the screen. But you can barely see it until I remove all the other organs in front. It's also surrounded by many other vital organs, like the liver, the stomach, the bile duct. And the ability of the tumor to grow into those organs is the reason why pancreatic cancer is one of the most painful tumor types. The hard-to-reach location also prevents the doctor from surgically removing it, as is routinely done for breast cancer, for example. So all of these reasons leave chemotherapy as the only option for the pancreatic cancer patient.

2:15This brings us to the second piece of bad news. Pancreatic cancer tumors have very few blood vessels.Why should we care about the blood vessel of a tumor? Let's think for a second how chemotherapy works. The drug is injected in the vein and it navigates throughout the body until it reaches the tumor site.It's like driving on a highway, trying to reach a destination. But what if your destination doesn't have an exit on the highway? You will never get there. And that's exactly the same problem for chemotherapy and pancreatic cancer. The drugs navigate throughout all of your body. They will reach healthy organs, resulting in high toxic effect for the patients overall, but very little will go to the tumor. Therefore, the efficacy is very limited.

3:07To me, it seems very counterintuitive to have a whole-body treatment to target a specific organ.However, in the last 40 years, a lot of money, research and effort have gone towards finding new, powerful drugs to treat pancreatic cancer, but nothing has been done in changing the way we deliver them to the patient.

3:31So after two pieces of bad news, I'm going to give you good news, hopefully. With a collaborator at MIT and the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, we have revolutionized the way we treat cancer by making localized drug delivery a reality. We are basically parachuting you on top of your destination, avoiding your having to drive all around the highway. We have embedded the drug into devices that look like this one. They are flexible enough that they can be folded to fit into the catheter, so the doctor can implant it directly on top of the tumor with minimally invasive surgery. But they are solid enough that once they are positioned on top of the tumor, they will act as a cage. They will actually physically prevent the tumor from entering other organs, controlling the metastasis.

4:29The devices are also biodegradable. That means that once in the body, they start dissolving, delivering the drug only locally, slowly and more effectively than what is done with the current whole-body treatment. In pre-clinical study, we have demonstrated that this localized approach is able to improve by 12 times the response to treatment.

4:53So we took a drug that is already known and by just delivering it locally where it's needed the most, we allow a response that is 12 times more powerful, reducing the systemic toxic effect. We are working relentlessly to bring this technology to the next level. We are finalizing the pre-clinical testing and the animal model required prior to asking the FDA for approval for clinical trials.

5:21Currently, the majority of patients will die from pancreatic cancer. We are hoping that one day, we can reduce their pain, extend their life and potentially make pancreatic cancer a curable disease.

5:37By rethinking the way we deliver the drug, we don't only make it more powerful and less toxic, we are also opening the door to finding new innovative solutions for almost all other impossible problems in pancreatic cancer patients and beyond.

5:54Thank you very much.

5:55(Applause)

Laura Indolfi: Good news in the fight against pancreatic cancer Laura Indolfi: Gute Nachrichten im Kampf gegen Bauchspeicheldrüsenkrebs Laura Indolfi: Buenas noticias en la lucha contra el cáncer de páncreas Laura Indolfi : De bonnes nouvelles dans la lutte contre le cancer du pancréas Laura Indolfi: Boas notícias na luta contra o cancro do pâncreas Лаура Индольфи: Хорошие новости в борьбе с раком поджелудочной железы Laura Indolfi: Pankreas kanserine karşı mücadelede iyi haber Лаура Індольфі: Хороші новини в боротьбі з раком підшлункової залози

0:13By raising your hand, how many of you know at least one person on the screen? 0:13En levant la main, combien d'entre vous connaissent au moins une personne à l'écran ? Wow, it's almost a full house. La salle est presque pleine. It's true, they are very famous in their fields. And do you know what all of them have in common?They all died of pancreatic cancer. However, although it's very, very sad this news, it's also thanks to their personal stories that we have raised awareness of how lethal this disease can be. Cependant, bien que cette nouvelle soit très, très triste, c'est aussi grâce à leurs histoires personnelles que nous avons pu sensibiliser le public à la gravité de cette maladie.

0:39It's become the third cause of cancer deaths, and only eight percent of the patients will survive beyond five years. That's a very tiny number, especially if you compare it with breast cancer, where the survival rate is almost 90 percent. So it doesn't really come as a surprise that being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer means facing an almost certain death sentence. What's shocking, though, is that in the last 40 years, this number hasn't changed a bit, while much more progress has been made with other types of tumors. Что шокирует, так это то, что за последние 40 лет это число ничуть не изменилось, в то время как в отношении других типов опухолей был достигнут гораздо больший прогресс. So how can we make pancreatic cancer treatment more effective? Итак, как мы можем сделать лечение рака поджелудочной железы более эффективным? As a biomedical entrepreneur,I like to work on problems that seem impossible, understanding their limitations and trying to find new, innovative solutions that can change their outcome. Как биомедицинский предприниматель, я люблю работать над проблемами, которые кажутся неразрешимыми, понимая их ограничения и пытаясь найти новые, инновационные решения, которые могут изменить их результат.

1:32The first piece of bad news with pancreatic cancer is that your pancreas is in the middle of your belly, literally. It's depicted in orange on the screen. На экране он отображается оранжевым цветом. But you can barely see it until I remove all the other organs in front. Mais on peut à peine le voir tant que je n'ai pas enlevé tous les autres organes qui se trouvent devant. Но его едва можно увидеть, пока я не удалю все остальные органы спереди. It's also surrounded by many other vital organs, like the liver, the stomach, the bile duct. Он также окружен многими другими жизненно важными органами, такими как печень, желудок, желчные протоки. And the ability of the tumor to grow into those organs is the reason why pancreatic cancer is one of the most painful tumor types. The hard-to-reach location also prevents the doctor from surgically removing it, as is routinely done for breast cancer, for example. L'emplacement difficile à atteindre empêche également le médecin de l'enlever chirurgicalement, comme c'est généralement le cas pour le cancer du sein, par exemple. Труднодоступное расположение также не позволяет врачу удалить его хирургическим путем, как это обычно делается, например, при раке молочной железы. So all of these reasons leave chemotherapy as the only option for the pancreatic cancer patient.

2:15This brings us to the second piece of bad news. 2:15 Ceci nous amène à la deuxième mauvaise nouvelle. Pancreatic cancer tumors have very few blood vessels.Why should we care about the blood vessel of a tumor? Les tumeurs du cancer du pancréas ont très peu de vaisseaux sanguins. Pourquoi se préoccuper des vaisseaux sanguins d'une tumeur ? Опухоли рака поджелудочной железы имеют очень мало кровеносных сосудов. Почему нас должен волновать кровеносный сосуд опухоли? Let's think for a second how chemotherapy works. The drug is injected in the vein and it navigates throughout the body until it reaches the tumor site.It's like driving on a highway, trying to reach a destination. But what if your destination doesn't have an exit on the highway? You will never get there. And that's exactly the same problem for chemotherapy and pancreatic cancer. The drugs navigate throughout all of your body. They will reach healthy organs, resulting in high toxic effect for the patients overall, but very little will go to the tumor. Ils atteindront les organes sains, ce qui entraînera un effet toxique élevé pour les patients dans l'ensemble, mais très peu ira à la tumeur. Они достигнут здоровых органов, что приведет к высокому токсическому эффекту для больных в целом, но очень мало попадет в опухоль. Therefore, the efficacy is very limited. Поэтому эффективность очень ограничена.

3:07To me, it seems very counterintuitive to have a whole-body treatment to target a specific organ.However, in the last 40 years, a lot of money, research and effort have gone towards finding new, powerful drugs to treat pancreatic cancer, but nothing has been done in changing the way we deliver them to the patient. 3:07 Мне кажется очень нелогичным проводить лечение всего тела для воздействия на конкретный орган. Однако за последние 40 лет много денег, исследований и усилий было направлено на поиск новых мощных лекарств для лечения рака поджелудочной железы. , но ничего не было сделано для изменения способа доставки их пациенту.

3:31So after two pieces of bad news, I'm going to give you good news, hopefully. With a collaborator at MIT and the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, we have revolutionized the way we treat cancer by making localized drug delivery a reality. Вместе с сотрудником Массачусетского технологического института и Массачусетской больницы общего профиля в Бостоне мы произвели революцию в методах лечения рака, сделав реальностью локальную доставку лекарств. We are basically parachuting you on top of your destination, avoiding your having to drive all around the highway. Nous vous parachutons en quelque sorte sur votre lieu de destination, vous évitant ainsi de faire le tour de l'autoroute. We have embedded the drug into devices that look like this one. Мы встроили лекарство в устройства, похожие на это. They are flexible enough that they can be folded to fit into the catheter, so the doctor can implant it directly on top of the tumor with minimally invasive surgery. Ils sont suffisamment souples pour être pliés et s'insérer dans le cathéter, de sorte que le médecin peut l'implanter directement sur la tumeur au moyen d'une chirurgie mini-invasive. Они достаточно гибкие, чтобы их можно было сложить, чтобы поместить в катетер, поэтому врач может имплантировать его непосредственно поверх опухоли с помощью минимально инвазивной хирургии. But they are solid enough that once they are positioned on top of the tumor, they will act as a cage. Mais ils sont suffisamment solides pour agir comme une cage une fois qu'ils sont placés sur la tumeur. Но они достаточно прочные, чтобы, будучи расположенными поверх опухоли, действовать как клетка. They will actually physically prevent the tumor from entering other organs, controlling the metastasis.

4:29The devices are also biodegradable. That means that once in the body, they start dissolving, delivering the drug only locally, slowly and more effectively than what is done with the current whole-body treatment. Это означает, что попав в организм, они начинают растворяться, доставляя лекарство только локально, медленнее и эффективнее, чем то, что делается при текущем лечении всего тела. In pre-clinical study, we have demonstrated that this localized approach is able to improve by 12 times the response to treatment. Dans une étude préclinique, nous avons démontré que cette approche localisée est capable d'améliorer de 12 fois la réponse au traitement. В доклиническом исследовании мы продемонстрировали, что этот локализованный подход способен улучшить ответ на лечение в 12 раз.

4:53So we took a drug that is already known and by just delivering it locally where it's needed the most, we allow a response that is 12 times more powerful, reducing the systemic toxic effect. We are working relentlessly to bring this technology to the next level. Мы неустанно работаем над тем, чтобы вывести эту технологию на новый уровень. We are finalizing the pre-clinical testing and the animal model required prior to asking the FDA for approval for clinical trials. Nous finalisons les tests précliniques et le modèle animal requis avant de demander à la FDA l'autorisation de procéder à des essais cliniques. Мы завершаем доклинические испытания и модель на животных, необходимые для того, чтобы запросить у FDA разрешение на клинические испытания.

5:21Currently, the majority of patients will die from pancreatic cancer. 5:21Actuellement, la majorité des patients meurent d'un cancer du pancréas. 5:21В настоящее время большинство пациентов умирают от рака поджелудочной железы. We are hoping that one day, we can reduce their pain, extend their life and potentially make pancreatic cancer a curable disease. Мы надеемся, что однажды мы сможем уменьшить их боль, продлить их жизнь и потенциально сделать рак поджелудочной железы излечимым заболеванием.

5:37By rethinking the way we deliver the drug, we don't only make it more powerful and less toxic, we are also opening the door to finding new innovative solutions for almost all other impossible problems in pancreatic cancer patients and beyond.

5:54Thank you very much.

5:55(Applause) 5:55(Applaudissements)