The Hirshberg Foundation is pleased to have Dr. Hines and Dr. Donahue joining us at the 14th Annual Symposium on Pancreatic Cancer to discuss the benefits of having an experienced medical team or an IPU (Integrated Practice Unit), like UCLA, to guide and treat pancreatic cancer patients.

O. Joe Hines, MD, is UCLA’s Professor and Chief of the Division of General Surgery, Robert and Kelly Day Chair in General Surgery, Vice Chair for Clinical Practice and Strategic Planning and the Director of the UCLA Agi Hirshberg Center for Pancreatic Diseases. He attended the University of Oklahoma College of Medicine and was inducted into Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Society in 1989. He trained in general surgery at UCLA, including two years of research in gastrointestinal physiology, and was then recruited to the UCLA faculty in 1997. While at UCLA he has received the Department Golden Scalpel Award for teaching excellence 10 times and the UCLA School of Medicine Award for Excellence in Education.

His research has focused on angiogenesis, cytokines, and pancreatic carcinogenesis, including the role of diet in modulating these processes. Dr. Hines’ research has been consistently funded by NIH, and he has served in the NIH Scientific Review Committee Tumor Progression and Metastasis. Dr. Hines is past-President of the Society of University Surgeons and has served as the Vice-President of the Pacific Coast Surgical Association, President of the Southern California Chapter of the American College of Surgeons, and now on the Board of Governors of the American College of Surgeons and as a Director of the American Board of Surgery. Dr. Hines was awarded the American College of Surgeons Traveling Fellowship to Germany in 2005, and was a James IV Traveling Fellow in 2011. He serves on the editorial boards of Annals of Surgery, Surgery, Journal of Gastrointestinal Surgery, JAMA Surgery, and is an associate editor of the Yearbook of Surgery and Maignot’s Abdominal Operations.

Timothy Donahue, MD, is the Associate Professor of Surgery at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and the Chief of the Division of Surgical Oncology and Vice Chair for Cancer Surgery in the Department of Surgery. Dr. Donahue attended Northwestern University where he received both his Bachelor’s degree and Medical degree. Upon completion, he continued his surgical and research training at UCLA. In 2009, he was appointed faculty and has made strides at UCLA ever since.

Dr. Donahue oversees all of cancer surgery including the pancreatic cancer program, which is one of the largest in the nation. In addition, Dr. Donahue is also the Program Director of the General Surgery Residency Program at UCLA. He is a very diverse pancreatic surgeon who works diligently performing up to four pancreatic surgeries per week. He is genuinely interested in caring for patients with pancreatic cancer. His clinical research is focused on improving the care of patients with borderline resectable or locally advanced disease. Dr. Donahue is a strong advocate of prolonged preoperative chemo or radiation therapy for this group of patients to optimally select those who will benefit from a surgical resection. As a result of this approach, Dr. Donahue and his team have among the best survival rates in this specialty.

Dr. Hines and Dr. Donahue will present on Team Approach for the Management of Pancreatic Cancer at the 14th Annual Symposum.

The Hirshberg Foundation is excited to have Dr. Margaret Tempero joining us at the 14th Annual Symposium on Pancreatic Cancer to share important information about what you need to know and understand once diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and the best treatment options that are available.

Margaret A. Tempero, MD, is Director, UCSF Pancreas Center and Leader of the UCSF Pancreas Cancer Program. She oversees a full portfolio of projects from risk assessment to early detection, biology, and therapeutics in pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors and pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma.

Dr. Tempero’s personal research career has focused on pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), especially in the area of investigational therapeutics. She was a pioneer in the use of antibody-based therapies and helped develop the fixed dose rate concept for gemcitabine. Her group has developed effective gemcitabine combinations and provided a foundation for using CA19-9 as a surrogate for survival in clinical trials, and currently is assessing molecular subtypes and molecular enrichment for selecting new drugs for clinical evaluation.

Dr. Tempero directed the first Gastrointestinal Specialized Programs of Research Excellence (GI SPORE) devoted to pancreatic cancer when she was on the faculty of the University of Nebraska and subsequently led the NCI funded U54 Molecular Target Assessment Team at UCSF. She is currently a DreamTeam P.I. on a Stand Up To Cancer grant entitled “Transforming pancreatic cancer from a death sentence into a treatable disease.” As a thought leader, Dr. Tempero organized the first Pancreas Cancer Think Tank in 1999 and co-led the NCI sponsored Progress Review Group on Pancreatic Cancer in 2000. She has served as the Chair of the NCCN Guidelines Panel on Pancreatic Cancer since 2000. She also serves as co-chair on the Pancreas Task Force Tissue Acquisition Working Group for the NCI intergroup and co-organized the State of the Science meeting on pancreatic cancer at the NCI.

Dr. Tempero has extensive experience in scientific review and administration, training and oversight. It is an honor to have her present Navigating from Diagnosis to Treatment at the 14th Annual Symposium.

The Hirshberg Foundation is excited to have Dr. Stephen Pandol joining us at the 14th Annual Symposium on Pancreatic Cancer to discuss how medical professionals from around the world are collaborating and making a difference in pancreatic cancer.

Stephen Pandol, MD, is board-certified in internal medicine, and gastroenterology. He leads a multidisciplinary team comprised of molecular and cell biologists, computational chemists, clinical scientists, physicians and population scientists, with the common goal of developing enhanced treatments and improved outcomes for patients with pancreatic cancer, pancreatitis and diabetes.

Dr. Pandol’s research focuses on determining the changes in intracellular signaling and organelle disorders that occur when pancreatitis develops; the mechanisms of cells involved in promoting the growth and metastasis of pancreatic cancer, and how nutrients in the intestine activate gut endocrine cells in diabetes to regulate glucose metabolism and food intake. He has published more than 250 papers, including peer-reviewed articles, reviews and book chapters, and more than 180 abstracts. He is on the editorial boards of American Journal of Physiology Gastrointestinal and Liver Physiology and Gastroenterology and is a Chief Editor on Frontiers in Gastrointestinal Sciences, and a Consulting Editor on Journal of Clinical Investigation.

Dr. Pandol is currently Co-Lead of the Consortium to Study Chronic Pancreatitis, Diabetes, and Pancreatic Cancer and a Counselor for the American Gastroenterology Association. He received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Pancreatic Association in 2015.

Dr. Pandol will speak on How Global Collaboration is Making a Difference at the 14th Annual Symposium on Pancreatic Cancer held at UCLA.

The Hirshberg Foundation is honored to share the stories of pancreatic cancer patients and caregivers from our past three Symposium Patient Panels. These honest and frank discussions give us all perspective, insight and sensitivity to the journey of both patients and loved ones once someone in the family is diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.

Dr. Howard Reber, Dr. Timothy Donahue and Dr. Annette Stanton have moderated our Patient Panels. They are all leaders in their fields and lend their professional experience in guiding these conversations.

Howard Reber, MD is a Distinguished Professor of Surgery Emeritus and Emeritus Chief of the Gastrointestinal and Pancreatic Surgery section at David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. He currently serves as Emeritus and Founding Director of the UCLA Agi Hirshberg Center for Pancreatic Diseases.

Timothy Donahue, MD is an Associate Professor of Surgery at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. He also has a joint appointment in the Department of Molecular and Medical Pharmacology to facilitate his research program. Dr. Donahue is the Chief of Pancreatic Surgery and oversees the pancreatic diseases multi-disciplinary program at UCLA.

Annette L. Stanton, Ph.D., is Professor of Psychology and Psychiatry/Biobehavioral Sciences at the University of California, Los Angeles, senior research scientist at the UCLA Cousins Center for Psychoneuroimmunology, and a member of the Center for Cancer Prevention and Control Research in the Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center.

These patient and caregiver perspectives are invaluable to those currently facing a pancreatic cancer diagnosis and we thank all our panelists for sharing their time, their stories and their hope with us.

Watch the 2018 Panel Discussion »

Watch the 2017 Panel Discussion »

Watch Past Panel Discussions »

New research from Seed Grant recipient, Marina Pasca di Magliano, PhD, from the University of Michigan has deepened our understanding of the biology of pancreatic cancer, crucial to the development of treatment therapies.

The most common form of pancreatic cancer is pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma, a tumor that starts in the exocrine cells of the pancreas, where digestive enzymes are formed. Nearly all pancreatic cancer tumors show mutations in KRAS and a majority also contain p53 mutations.

The study shows that the p53 mutant protein is responsible for maintaining the biology of the tumor, specifically the way the tumor cells metabolize nutrients to derive energy for their growth. The p53 mutation also showed evidence of mediating malignant potential and cancer cell invasion, giving more insight into how pancreatic cancer spreads.

The pioneering research by Dr. Pasca di Magliano and her lab found that p53 mutation is required for the formation and maintenance of KRAS induced pancreatic cancer precursor lesions. This finding has major implications on the fundamental aspect of tumor biology and the future development of therapy and diagnosis.

As Dr. Pasca di Magliano wrote of her research, “We could never have completed it without the [Hirshberg] Foundation’s support, and I would like to thank you again for supporting us, and for your patience.” We applaud all those involved in this study for their relentless dedication to understanding pancreatic cancer and the work that brings us closer to a cure. Their research instrumental for the development of future treatment options.

In a new study conducted by the UCLA School of Nursing, researchers will assess how supportive care can increase the overall quality of life, and potentially survival rates, in pancreatic cancer patients.

It is known that pancreatic cancer patients, and their caregivers, often experience increased levels of depression and a high symptom burden. Furthermore, when patient-reported symptoms are integrated into routine care, there is evidence of increased survival time. We know that supportive care to improve symptoms, reduce hospital stays and preserve quality of life is imperative. This innovative new study will employ online nursing check-ins to track patients’ symptoms and improve supportive care, with the goal to reduce overall pain.

The study will also evaluate how the smartphone app, chemoWave, can increase collaboration with caregivers and improve patient wellbeing by recording and monitoring patients’ physical and emotional states.

By focusing on supportive care for both patients and caregivers, this study hopes to improve overall quality of life, and potentially survival rates for those facing pancreatic cancer.