Dr. Vinod Balachandran

You can use the immune system to recognize pancreatic cancer and treat it.

One of the most challenging cancers in oncology, we think, can provide a blueprint to do it in other cancers as well.

Sure.

So the first patient on this clinical trial is Donna Gustafson.

She was the first patient on our clinical trial to receive this personalized RNA vaccine to treat pancreatic cancer.

She had her diagnosis initially when she was vacationing in Australia to visit her daughter.

So she flew back to the United States to our center at Memorial Sloan Kettering, where we performed surgery to remove her cancer.

And then she became the first patient enrolled on this first pancreatic cancer RNA vaccine trial.

And now six years later, she remains alive with very strong evidence of persisting immune response in her peripheral blood.

So how is she doing now?

Dr.

She is doing fantastic.

She hiked up Mount Etna last year to celebrate her 50th wedding anniversary.

She is a picture of vibrancy and is able to do all of the normal things she would do in life and more and really living her life to the fullest.