TY - JOUR T1 - FAK-inhibition opens the door to checkpoint immunotherapy in Pancreatic Cancer JF - Journal for ImmunoTherapy of Cancer JO - J Immunother Cancer DO - 10.1186/s40425-017-0217-6 VL - 5 IS - 1 SP - 17 AU - Stefan N. Symeonides AU - Stephen M. Anderton AU - Alan Serrels Y1 - 2017/12/01 UR - http://jitc.bmj.com/content/5/1/17.abstract N2 - Immunotherapy has had remarkable success in the treatment of some cancer types. However, pancreatic cancer has remained largely refractory to immunotherapy, including immune checkpoint inhibitors. Recently, Jiang and colleagues identified a key role for FAK in regulating the composition of the fibrotic and immuno-suppressive pancreatic tumour niche, and showed that FAK inhibitors can be used in combination with immune checkpoint blockade and gemcitabine chemotherapy to significantly delay pancreatic tumour progression. This study further supports the use of FAK inhibitors in combination with immunotherapy.Abbreviations:anti-CTLA4Anti- cytotoxic T-Lymphocyte associated protein 4anti-PD-1Anti-programmed death receptor 1FAKFocal adhesion kinaseFAPFibroblast activation proteinGEMGenetically engineered mouseMDSCMyeloid derived suppressor cellsSCCSquamous cell carcinomaTMETumour microenvironmentTregsRegulatory T-cells ER -