A new therapy that combines an experimental drug and a common antibiotic has shown promising results in treating pancreatic cancer in preclinical laboratory experiments.

The findings, by Virginia Commonwealth University researchers, could open the door to a promising new way to treat the disease, one of the most deadly and difficult cancers to manage due to a lack of effective therapies.

"Pancreatic cancer is so difficult to treat because it shows distinct genetic profiles among patients. This complexity contributes to its aggressive nature and resistance to conventional therapies such as chemotherapy and radiation therapy," said lead researcher Paul B. Fisher, who published his findings in the journal Cancer Research.

"The multiple in vitro and in vivo models that we used have varying genetic backgrounds and yet they all still show susceptibility to this novel and exciting therapeutic combination."

The researchers found a potent synergistic effect when they combined the drug Sabutoclax and the antibiotic Minocycline. The results showed the combination was significantly toxic to pancreatic cancer cells and disrupted tumor growth and extended survival in several types of advanced pancreatic cancer in mice.