Dr. Tempero on Pancreatic Cancer Immunotherapies

Margaret A. Tempero, MD, director, Pancreas Center, University of California, San Francisco, discusses the outlook for immunotherapies in pancreatic cancer.

Immunotherapies in this space is a work in progress, Tempero admits. Investigators at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine have been looking at an autologous cell-based vaccine. Antigen-specific vaccines are in development in pancreatic cancer as well, Tempero says.

There is a need to “make room” for immunotherapies and determine their optimal use, especially with regard to immune checkpoint inhibitors, such as PD-1 and anti-CTLA-4.