Retired Doctor Survives Rare Pancreatic Cancer for 14 Years with New Treatment
A retired professor diagnosed with a rare form of pancreatic cancer, similar to that which afflicted Steve Jobs, has defied a grim prognosis for over a decade thanks to surgery and a recently approved treatment.
Federico Kalinec, a retired UCLA professor, has lived for 14 years after being diagnosed with pancreatic neuroendocrine tumor (PNET), a rare form of pancreatic cancer. When initially diagnosed in 2012, Kalinec was given only a few months to live.
PNET is a type of gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumor (GEP-NET), affecting an estimated one in 27,000 people annually. This disease tragically claimed the life of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs in 2011 at the age of 56.
Kalinec experienced jaundice and metastasis to multiple organs. Surgeons successfully removed his pancreas and part of his stomach, which initially contained the disease. However, it returned in 2020.
Fortuitously, in 2018, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved a new treatment for gastric and pancreatic tumors. This treatment, peptide receptor radionuclide therapy (PRRT), utilizes a series of injections and is described by the Society of Nuclear Medicine & Molecular Imaging (SNMMI) as a highly targeted approach that uses a radioactive drug to destroy tumor cells.
"It targets those tumor cells and kills them directly. And that's been shown to be very effective for pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors," Dr. Timothy Donahue told ABC 7. Benefits of PRRT include symptom relief and slowing tumor progression.
"I have cancer, but I don't give up and we are fighting," Kalinec stated, expressing hope that others facing similar diagnoses can find similar success with the treatment.