Unmasking Pancreatic Cancer’s Sugar Shield: A New Target for Immunotherapy

Scientists have uncovered a sugar-based mechanism that pancreatic cancer uses to evade the immune system and have developed an antibody aimed at restoring antitumor immunity.

Immune Evasion by Pancreatic Cancer

Pancreatic cancer is well-known for its resistance to immunotherapy. New research from Northwestern University reveals one reason behind this resilience. In a study published in Cancer Research, Mohamed Abdel-Mohsen, PhD, and his team explain how pancreatic tumor cells hide from immune attack by covering themselves with a sugar molecule called sialic acid. This sugar tricks the immune system into perceiving the cancer cells as normal, allowing them to escape destruction.

“It took our team six years to uncover this mechanism,” said Abdel-Mohsen. “What we found is that pancreatic cancer essentially disguises itself in sugar. This sugar tells the immune system, ‘Don’t attack me—I’m one of you.’ It’s a very classic wolf-in-sheep’s-clothing scenario.”

Challenges in Treating Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), the most common form of pancreatic cancer, remains one of the deadliest cancers, with a five-year survival rate below 13%. A major obstacle in PDAC treatment is its immunosuppressive microenvironment, which blocks immune cells from identifying and destroying tumor cells.

Therapeutic Implications

The discovery of this sugar-based disguise not only reveals a new immune-evasion strategy but also opens the door to developing therapies that can neutralize this effect and boost the immune system's ability to fight pancreatic cancer.

Author’s summary: Pancreatic cancer evades immune attack by mimicking normal cells with a sugar shield, offering new targets for immunotherapy to improve treatment outcomes.

Inside Precision Medicine — 2025-11-06