Over the last four decades, Spanish biochemist Dr Mariano Barbacid has dedicated his research to finding a cure for pancreatic cancer in humans. His research has been crucial for attempts to end the disease that has been plaguing humanity since the dawn of time.
Furthermore, Barbacid has earned honors for his research, including the King Juan Carlos I Science award in 1984 and the Rhodes Memorial award in 1985. Now, Barbacid is asking for funding and support to end one of the deadliest types of cancer in the world.
“These studies open a way to design new combined therapies that can improve the survival of patients with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma,” said the authors in the PNAS (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences).
Cancer isn’t a new disease like COVID-19; it’s been a recurring group of diseases that has existed ever since the Mesozoic era. Pancreatic cancer has evolved over history; it was first thought of as a “scirrhus” by Italian anatomist Giovanni Battista Morgagni. In 1858, American physician Jacob Mendes Da Costa identified Pancreatic cancer as a disease through microscopic findings and accounts from those with Pancreatic cancer.
In 1982, Dr Barbacid isolated the first human oncogene in the bladder carcinoma. However, those experiments were limited because the oncogenes were not permanently isolated and could recur at a later date. In January 2026, Dr Barbacid and the CNIO (Spanish National Cancer Research Centre) made a historic breakthrough. Barbacid and the CNIO successfully isolated the oncogene in mice, and prevented the oncogene from reoccurring utilizing triple combination therapy. “Although experimental results like those described here have never been obtained before, we are still not in a position to carry out clinical trials with the triple therapy,” Barbacid said.
Ever since announcing the results of the lab, Barbacid has asked for funding to continue his research for a cure for Pancreatic cancer for humans. The CRIS Cancer Foundation(Cancer Research Innovation in Science) has announced a public fundraising initiative for Barbacid. So far, the initiative has raised 2,048,459 euros, approximately 2,413,084.70 USD. The initiative’s objective is currently 3,500,000 euros, which is 4,123,000 USD.
Overall, the cure for Pancreatic cancer is not over, but humanity is making progress.