Accelerating Progress When It Matters Most: PanCAN’s Longstanding Commitment to Research

For the past 25 years, PanCAN has served as a science accelerator shaping the future of pancreatic cancer treatment and earlier detection. This commitment to change outcomes for one of the deadliest and most underfunded cancers in the United States has never been more important than it is right now.

With federal research budgets facing growing uncertainty, PanCAN continues to propel the field forward. We are building a research ecosystem to translate discoveries into treatments and new early detection strategies faster - and we need your support to continue to fill funding gaps, support young investigators and make sure the progress we're making for patients and families continues.

"We are determined to keep pushing ahead despite the challenges that face the research field," said PanCAN Chief Scientific and Medical Officer Anna Berkenblit, MD, MMSc. "There's incredible momentum right now - we want to sustain it so that innovation and discovery continue uninterrupted."

Thanks in part to PanCAN and our extraordinary community of supporters, researchers are poised to change the trajectory of pancreatic cancer. Here's how we've laid the groundwork:

• Since launching the Research Grants Program in 2003, we have awarded 240 grants to 220 scientists at 78 institutions.
• Our total research investment stands at approximately $249 million, including our competitive Research Grants Program as well as our own leading-edge scientific and clinical initiatives like the Early Detection Initiative, Precision Promise and SPARK Health Data Platform.
• PanCAN has supported many important areas of research over the years including studies focused on KRAS, mutated in over 90% of pancreatic tumors. Over the past 25 years, we have provided $17 million in funding to 39 investigators through 45 grants seeking to understand and find vulnerabilities in mutant KRAS. Our investment has helped fuel the growing number of promising clinical trials for patients available today that are focused on therapies targeting KRAS mutations.

This longstanding commitment to fund science has led to ripple effects for the pancreatic cancer research community: For every $1 PanCAN invested through its Research Grants Program from 2003-2024, grant recipients went on to receive an additional $11 in subsequent pancreatic cancer research funding, leveraging our donors gifts and fueling the growth of the pancreatic cancer field.

And we're not stopping now. Here are just a few ways PanCAN continues to innovate and respond to the moment:

• We're accepting applications for our newest grant program: PanCAN's Research Recovery Grants. These one-year grants - up to $125,000 each - are designed to sustain researchers and preserve high-quality, high-potential projects that are at risk due to funding disruptions in the National Institutes of Health (NIH) or the Department of Defense's Congressionally Directed Medical Research Program (CDMRP). Read more about our new Research Recovery Grants program.
• Our latest round of grant funding focuses on supporting young investigators who have bold ideas and promising projects. We are also targeting areas of highest need, including initiatives focused on earlier detection of pancreatic cancer, therapeutic resistance and disparities in access to care. Read more about our newest grant recipients.

"Research is vital to advance early detection, improve treatment options, and ultimately save lives," said Dr. Berkenblit. "Patients and families need us, especially now."

Let's keep the momentum going even as we navigate a changing federal funding landscape. Together, we can turn science into survival.