Why Is Pancreatic Cancer So Deadly? 7 Israeli Research Projects Changing the Odds
Pancreatic cancer has the lowest survival rate of any major cancer. Only 13% of people survive five years after diagnosis, and it is the third leading cause of cancer death in the United States. In 2026 alone, an estimated 67,530 Americans will be diagnosed with the disease and 52,740 are expected to die from it.
November is Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month. Below, we explain why pancreatic cancer is so hard to beat, and introduce seven research projects by ICRF-funded scientists in Israel who are taking on its toughest challenges.
Why is pancreatic cancer so deadly?
Four things make pancreatic cancer especially dangerous:
- It is usually found late. The pancreas sits deep in the abdomen, early tumors rarely cause symptoms, and there is no screening test for the general population at average risk. Most people are diagnosed once the cancer has already spread and surgery is no longer an option.
- It is driven by KRAS gene mutations. KRAS mutations are found in more than 90% of pancreatic cancers, and G12D is the most common type. For decades KRAS was considered “undruggable.”
- It builds a fortress. Pancreatic tumors are surrounded by dense, scar-like tissue that can make it hard for drugs and immune cells to reach the cancer.
- It hides from the immune system. Pancreatic cancer cells suppress the immune response around them, which is one reason immunotherapies that work well in other cancers often fail in most cases of pancreatic cancer.
Each of these problems is a research question. Here is how scientists funded by Israel Cancer Research Fund are answering them.
1. Targeting KRAS G12D, the most common KRAS mutation
A few years ago, scientists achieved a long-awaited breakthrough: drugs that block KRAS G12C, a less common form of the mutation. The next frontier is KRAS G12D, the most common KRAS mutation in cancer and a major driver of pancreatic tumors.
Dr. Nir London of the Weizmann Institute of Science specializes in covalent inhibitors, molecules that lock onto a target protein permanently. With the Feldberg Family Project Grant from ICRF (2025–2028), his lab is using computational design tools it developed to create, build and test molecules that react specifically with KRAS G12D. The work could lay the foundation for more effective, less toxic treatments for pancreatic, lung and colorectal cancers.
2. BRCA-mutant pancreatic cancer: is pancreatic cancer hereditary?
Most pancreatic cancers are not inherited, but about 1 in 10 patients carry an inherited gene change that may have raised their risk. BRCA2 and BRCA1 are among the best known. According to the National Cancer Institute, 5%–10% of people with a harmful BRCA2 change and up to 5% of those with a harmful BRCA1 change will develop pancreatic cancer, which is why the topic matters for Ashkenazi Jewish families, who carry BRCA mutations more often.
Dr. Talia Golan, a medical oncologist who leads the pancreatic cancer program at Sheba Medical Center, has spent her career on this group of patients. BRCA-related pancreatic tumors often respond well to platinum chemotherapy and to targeted drugs called PARP inhibitors, an approach Dr. Golan helped establish as lead author of the international POLO trial. But many patients eventually stop responding.
With the ICRF Jacqueline and Arthur Burdorf Memorial Research Professorship Grant (2024–2029), her lab is using a unique collection of patient-derived models to uncover how that resistance develops and to test drug combinations that could delay it, with the goal of moving the most promising ones into clinical trials.
3. Engineering immune cells to recognize pancreatic cancer
Prof. Yardena Samuels, director of the Moross Integrated Cancer Center at the Weizmann Institute of Science, has identified a tiny protein fragment, or neoantigen, created by the KRAS G12V/C mutation that cancer cells display to the immune system. Her team isolated the immune cells that recognize it and engineered donor T cells to kill cancer cells carrying the mutation, an approach called TCR-T cell therapy.
With the ICRF Irving Himel and Family Project Grant (2025–2028), Prof. Samuels is testing combinations, including chemotherapy, that make these engineered cells work better, as well as vaccines and other treatments aimed at the same target. The work could eventually help about 120,000 patients a year with lung, pancreatic and colon cancers that carry these mutations.
Is there a pancreatic cancer vaccine?
Not yet. No vaccine for pancreatic cancer has been approved, but several approaches are being tested in clinical trials, including personalized vaccines designed to train the immune system to recognize a patient’s own tumor. Research like Prof. Samuels’ work on KRAS neoantigens is building the scientific base these vaccines depend on.
4. Can mouth bacteria drive pancreatic cancer?
ICRF-funded scientists are investigating a surprising suspect: bacteria from the mouth.
Prof. Gabriel Nussbaum showed that a type of bacteria linked to gum disease can travel from the mouth to the pancreas and cause pre-cancerous changes, and that, combined with a cancer-related gene mutation, it sped up tumor development. With an ICRF Project Grant (2024–2027), his lab is tracing which cells the bacteria infect and how they change those cells’ behavior and metabolism.
Prof. Gilad Bachrach studies Fusobacterium nucleatum, an oral bacterium found in excess in colorectal, esophageal and pancreatic tumors, where it is linked to poorer outcomes. His team discovered a bacterial enzyme in mice that they named fusolisin. Blocking it kills the bacteria inside tumors and triggers an immune response that slows tumor growth. With an ICRF Project Grant (2025–2028), they are developing fusolisin inhibitors as a new kind of cancer treatment.
5. Making radiotherapy work better against pancreatic cancer
Radiotherapy helps some patients far more than others. Dr. Yaacov Lawrence, chair of radiation oncology at Sheba Medical Center, and co-investigator Dr. Tal Yardeni believe part of the answer lies in mitochondria, the energy-producing structures inside our cells, which carry their own DNA in slightly different versions.
With the ICRF Rolfe Collaborative Project Grant for Pancreatic Cancer (2025–2028), the team is studying how these mitochondrial variants, especially in immune cells, shape how pancreatic tumors and healthy tissue respond to radiation. If they are right, it could lead to treatments that tune a patient’s own immune cells to make radiotherapy more effective.
6. Heparanase-2: a natural brake on tumor spread
With earlier ICRF support, Prof. Israel Vlodavsky of the Technion and his team discovered heparanase, an enzyme that helps cancer grow and spread. His recent ICRF project (2023–2026) focuses on its counterpart, heparanase-2, which appears to block heparanase and act as a natural tumor suppressor. By studying it in pancreatic and breast cancer, his team hopes to open the door to earlier diagnosis and to treatments based on heparanase-2.
7. Breaking pancreatic cancer’s immune shield
Dr. Erez Hasnis, a gastroenterologist and researcher at Rambam Health Care Campus, has found that pancreatic cancer cells increase levels of a protein called OASL, which blocks interferons, key immune signals that help stop cancer growth. That may be one way tumors shut down the immune system around them.
As the recipient of the ICRF Barbara S. Goodman Endowed Research Career Development Award in Pancreatic Cancer Research (2024–2027), Dr. Hasnis is studying exactly how OASL works inside tumors, knowledge that could lead to treatments that make standard therapies and immunotherapy more effective.
How donors make this research possible
Many of these projects carry the names of the people who made them possible. The Barbara S. Goodman award was created by the Goodman family in memory of Barbara S. Goodman, who lost her battle with pancreatic cancer at 51. The Burdorf family’s generous bequest funds a portfolio of innovative cancer research grants including Prof. Golan’s professorship. And ICRF’s partnership with the Rolfe Pancreatic Cancer Foundation has raised substantial funds for groundbreaking pancreatic cancer research in Israel.
Since 1975, ICRF has invested just under $109 million in more than 3,000 research grants, all selected through a peer review process modeled on the National Institutes of Health.
Fund the next pancreatic cancer breakthrough
Your gift supports Israeli scientists working on the hardest problems in pancreatic cancer and all cancers. You can give to ICRF and invest in a robust portfolio of cancer research or name a grant in honor or memory of a loved one, which enables a specific, innovative project to move forward.
Frequently asked questions
Why is pancreatic cancer found so late?
The pancreas lies deep in the abdomen, early tumors rarely cause symptoms, and there is no screening test for the general population. As a result, most people are diagnosed after the cancer has spread.
What is KRAS G12D?
KRAS G12D is the most common form of the KRAS mutation, which drives more than 90% of pancreatic cancers. It keeps cells’ growth signal permanently switched on. Scientists, including ICRF-funded Dr. Nir London, are developing drugs designed to block it.
Is pancreatic cancer hereditary?
Most pancreatic cancers are not inherited, but about 1 in 10 patients carry an inherited gene change, such as a BRCA2 or BRCA1 mutation, that may have raised their risk.
When is Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month?
Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month is held every November. World Pancreatic Cancer Day falls on November 19 in 2026.
This article is for general information only and is not medical advice. Please talk with your doctor about your personal risk and treatment options.