He's spent 44 years chasing one of the most aggressive cancers on Earth — and he may have just cornered it 🧬 At 76, Spanish biochemist Dr. Mariano Barbacid and his team at Madrid’s National Cancer Research Centre (CNIO) have published a striking result in pancreatic cancer. Using a triple combination of drugs, they achieved complete tumor disappearance in multiple mouse models of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma. The tumors did not return for more than 200 days after treatment ended. No resistance developed, and the regimen was well tolerated with no serious side effects observed. Standard treatments for this disease often stop working within months as tumors rapidly become resistant and regrow. This is the first time researchers have reported sustained complete responses of this duration in these aggressive models. Barbacid remains cautious: “We are not yet in a position to carry out clinical trials,” he emphasized. Humans are not mice, and much more work remains. The same scientist who isolated the first human oncogene (HRAS) in 1982 may have taken a major step toward the breakthrough he has pursued for decades. Hope — or cautious optimism? 👇