Investigation of the role of autophagy inhibition in pancreatic cancer

Pancreatic cancer is a devastating disease with deaths per year almost equalling diagnoses.
Successful treatment is rare with few patients being eligible for surgery. Autophagy is a process by
which cells recycle their material, allowing survival when under stress or when treated with anticancer
therapy. Autophagy is increased in pancreatic cancer, meaning agents inhibiting autophagy
have the potential for use as therapeutics in pancreatic cancer. We hope to show that autophagy
inhibition kills pancreatic cancer cells. We also intend to investigate whether pancreatic cancers with specific mutations respond better to inhibition of autophagy, allowing for personalised treatment
options.