• Anna Berkenblit on LinkedIn
• Sudheer Doss on LinkedIn
• PanCAN
• For access to data through PanCAN’s SPARK platform, please visit: PanCAN.org/spark
• For more information, contact PanCAN Patient Services with questions about any type of pancreatic cancer – we are here to help.

The state of pancreatic cancer today

“As a medical oncologist, I’ve just been so impressed with the advances that we’ve seen in other tumor types… and unfortunately, for pancreatic cancer patients, they’re still getting variations on the theme of the same chemo that I used to give. And that’s just really not acceptable.” – Anna Berkenblit

• Pancreatic cancer remains one of the deadliest major cancers, with a 13% five-year survival rate and a high percentage of late-stage diagnoses.
• Pancreatic Cancer Action Network (PanCAN) is the leading nonprofit in the fight against pancreatic cancer.
• Their mission is to take bold action to improve the lives of everyone impacted by pancreatic cancer by advancing scientific research, building community, sharing knowledge, and advocating for patients.

Mission-driven careers

“I’m so motivated to help not just one patient at a time, one drug at a time, one company at a time, but to help all pancreatic cancer patients.” – Anna Berkenblit

• Dr. Anna Berkenblit is Chief Scientific and Medical Officer at PanCAN, responsible for the organization’s overall scientific and clinical strategy, including research, clinical trials, patient services, health data, and partnerships, with over 20 years of drug development and oncology experience.

“I think it was close to six months at PanCAN, I just fell in love with the organization… this was a great opportunity to really get closer to the patient.” – Sudheer Doss

• Dr. Sudheer Doss is Chief Business Officer at PanCAN, where he oversees strategic partnerships, industry collaborations, and PanCAN’s health data and AI strategy. His background includes over a decade of leading precision medicine strategy projects across the healthcare ecosystem.

Clinical trials and data sharing

“If we can accelerate the development of one drug by one year, that has the potential to impact thousands of patients.” – Anna Berkenblit

• PanCAN’s Precision Promise trial is the first Phase 3 adaptive platform trial in pancreatic cancer.
• Over 460 patients participated, with data including sequencing, imaging, activity tracking, and more — soon to be shared with the research community.
• PanCAN also supports clinical trial enrollment through a bespoke finder tool and one-on-one patient support.

KRAS and the future of targeted therapies

“Over 90% of pancreatic cancer patients have a KRAS mutation. So the potential for KRAS inhibitors is tremendous.” – Anna Berkenblit

• While G12C inhibitors only target ~1% of patients, pan-KRAS inhibitors are opening new doors.
• The first Phase 3 trial of a pan-KRAS inhibitor in pancreatic cancer is now enrolling.
• PanCAN has funded over $17 million in KRAS-related research since 2003, playing a key role in what could become a new standard of care.

A vision for the future

“Existing screening procedures that are completely non-invasive still have lower adherence than we would like. And I think the MCED may help address this, because your average person might be more likely to say, ‘Hey, if I can get one test that screens for all cancers, that’s pretty compelling’—as opposed to getting them concerned enough about their risk for pancreatic cancer specifically, which is a huge lift.” – Sudheer Doss

• Early detection is critical. PanCAN supports both current diagnostic efforts and companies pursuing multi-cancer early detection (MCED) tests like GRAIL.
• From a data science and health system perspective, AI and machine learning are expected to fundamentally change every stage, from discovery to delivery.
• With the right advances in screening, stratification, and treatment, PanCAN believes a cure for many patients is within reach.

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