Both of these forms of cancer present as obstinate malignancies for which there are few or no treatments available. Glioblastoma is a malignant form of brain cancer with 10,000 new cases diagnosed each year. The five-year survival rate is less than 3 percent. There is currently no cure. While pancreatic cancer can be cured in its earliest stages, it often goes undetected until the disease is too advanced for treatment. The five-year survival rate is less than 6 percent, and it is the fourth-leading cause of cancer death in the United States.

 

“We have made tremendous advances in many cancers in recent decades, but pancreatic cancer and glioblastoma remain exceedingly difficult to treat,” says David Livingston, deputy director of DF/HCC. “From a clinical perspective, we are eager to gain a more sophisticated understanding of the underlying biology that’s driving these diseases, and to work with leading scientists and engineers to design fresh approaches for how we might intervene.”  

 

According to the Koch Institute’s website, future projects may include “new tools to deliver drugs to recalcitrant cancer tissues, newly engineered methods to rapidly define patient-specific molecular vulnerabilities and new embedded sensors that can rapidly assess if drugs being used are working.” The Bridge Project may extend their target areas to melanoma and ovarian cancer over the next five years.

 

Ultimately, the Bridge Project hopes to cure cancer with ingenuity.

 

“We believe that success against cancer will come if we apply the same creativity and innovation to the research enterprise that we do to the research itself,” says Jacks. “New kinds of interdisciplinary collaboration are absolutely essential in order to rapidly translate research discoveries into clinical strategies that will benefit patients in the near term.”