Key takeaways
- Nearly 70,000 people in the U.S. will be diagnosed with pancreatic cancer this year.
- Half of patients diagnosed with pancreatic cancer are in an advanced stage of the disease.
- Early results are promising from a UCLA Health clinical trial testing experimental immunotherapy drugs to shrink pancreatic tumors.
Kalinda Ukanwa Zeiger, a UCLA Health patient with pancreatic cancer, knew all the grim statistics associated with the nation’s third deadliest cancer.
Still, she had pivotal moments during her course of treatment where she felt like she’d won the lottery.
Ukanwa Zeiger qualified for a clinical trial, developed by UCLA Health faculty, that’s showing promising early results for patients whose tumors must be shrunk in order to qualify for life-saving surgery.
“I needed every kind of edge I could get – it definitely provided an edge,” Ukanwa Zeiger said of the trial. “I feel like I’m going to be one of those rare survivors of pancreatic cancer.”
Principal investigators Timothy Donahue, MD, and Zev Wainberg, MD, both members of the UCLA Health Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center (JCCC), said she showed an exceptional response. Ukanwa Zeiger received standard-of-care chemotherapy coupled with two experimental immunotherapy drugs.
By the time she underwent surgery in 2025, the tumor was dead scar tissue.
“The cancer was completely gone when we took out the tumor,” said Dr. Wainberg, professor of medicine at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and co-director of the UCLA Gastrointestinal Oncology Program. “That’s very favorable. That’s the best you can get.”
An estimated 67,530 people in the U.S. will be diagnosed with pancreatic cancer this year, according to the American Cancer Society. Symptoms can be vague and no routine screening test exists.
Dr. Donahue, professor of surgery and surgical director of the UCLA Agi Hirshberg Center for Pancreatic Diseases, said pancreatic cancer is projected to surpass colon cancer to become the second leading cause of cancer deaths within the next five years. At least half of patients are diagnosed with advanced, stage 4 disease.
“There haven’t been too many effective treatments in the past, but that might be changing somewhat now,” Dr. Donahue said. “These tumors have been resistant to most chemotherapies, targeted therapies, immunotherapies, you name it. Because of the prevalence and burden with cancer deaths and resistance to treatment, we need research.”
Improving the odds
Ukanwa Zeiger, an assistant professor of marketing at UC Irvine, felt like she’d been tackled by a linebacker out of nowhere when she was diagnosed in the summer of 2024.
She’d experienced pain from time to time in her left side. With a demanding schedule, the Baldwin Hills resident held off on seeking medical care.
But after a rich soul food dinner one night, sharp pain finally pushed her to UCLA Health for a walk-in appointment. Her regular doctor wasn’t available, so she saw Victoria Shin, DO.
“I happened to get Dr. Shin, who is the other component of what saved my life,” she said.
After an ultrasound, Dr. Shin told Ukanwa Zeiger to schedule further testing. But when the pain improved, she put it off. Dr. Shin personally called her and said she was having her office book a CT scan.
Ukanwa Zeiger also underwent an MRI and then a biopsy that confirmed cancer.
“The good news is they caught it early,” she said. “Initially, it was stage 1B but by the time I started chemo, it had moved to stage 2. It moved pretty quickly.”
She learned that the tumor, while small, could not be removed because it was entangled with the superior mesenteric artery that provides blood to the pancreas and parts of the small and large intestines.
In cases where essential blood vessels are involved, the standard of care is to attempt to shrink the tumor with chemotherapy so it can be removed without causing dangerous bleeding.
Ukanwa Zeiger found out she was eligible for a clinical trial for patients with so-called borderline resectable tumors like hers or whose cancer is locally advanced.
“For borderline resectable, you can’t take it out right away, but you could if you have a good response to chemo,” Dr. Wainberg said. “We were asking what if we give them chemo plus these two immunotherapies, can we do even better than chemo alone?”
For the trial, Ukanwa Zeiger would undergo chemotherapy once every two weeks for six months. After each session, the two immunotherapy drugs were administered to enlist her immune system to fight the cancer.
The immunotherapies, which have not been approved by the Food and Drug Administration, work to ramp up the immune system in different ways.
Zimberelimab, a checkpoint inhibitor, stops cancer cells from deactivating T cells, allowing them to attack the cancer. Quemliclustat acts as a blocker for adenosine, a chemical that is enhanced in people with pancreatic cancer and can diminish the immune system’s response.
“During the trial, I felt like I was getting top-flight treatment, even down to the infusion clinic,” Ukanwa Zeiger said. “Someone would come around and say, ‘Would you like some tea? Can I get you anything?’”
Ukanwa Zeiger said the first scan during the trial showed the tumor was shrinking. While that looked encouraging, she still worried it wouldn’t shrink enough for her to have surgery.
“If I didn’t get surgery, I’d probably not be alive in a year,” she said. “It was a nail biter all the way to the end.”
She recalled the moment when Dr. Donahue asked her if she wanted to have surgery. She felt like she’d hit the jackpot.
In March 2025, she underwent a lengthy, complex procedure at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, accompanied by her husband, mother and then-13-year-old daughter.
When she woke up, she had the lottery-winning feeling all over again. She spent two weeks in the hospital recovering after removal of the head of the pancreas, first part of the small intestine, the gallbladder and the bile duct.
“It’s a major replumbing of the digestive system,” she said.
Dr. Donahue said when a pathologist looked at the tumor under a microscope, all the cancer cells were dead. That’s called a complete histopathologic response, indicating that pre-surgical treatment destroyed the tumor.
Dr. Wainberg said further study in phase 2 of the trial is needed to determine if that outcome was due to the addition of the immunotherapies.
“It’s a very good question and I’m careful to not say I know for sure,” he said. “Kalinda’s case is an example of someone who had a better-than-expected response than if it had been chemotherapy alone. Because of that, we’re optimistic that it’s a meaningful contribution to the chemotherapy regimen.”
Dr. Donahue said more than 90% of the roughly 30 phase 1 trial participants were eligible for surgery, although some have not yet completed the treatment to see if they qualify.
Of the patients who have gone to surgery, he said, 43% either had no cancer cells seen under the microscope or very few.
“If you compare that to chemotherapy, that number is just 10%,” Dr. Donahue said. “It looks like there is about a four-fold improvement in the patients that are having a major histopathological response to the treatment.”
Dr. Wainberg said Ukanwa Zeiger’s cancer could still recur, but that is much less likely because of how well she responded.
“Overall, she’s thriving,” Dr. Wainberg said. “She’s back to work. Her cancer is in complete remission. She’s had multiple CAT scans that have shown no evidence of cancer returning. I wish all my patients would do as well as Kalinda.”
Ukanwa Zeiger said she wanted to share her experience at UCLA Health to give hope to other patients looking to beat the odds.
“I feel awfully grateful that I was able to get those two guys, who are literally best in the country if not in the world,” she said.
A trial brings hope
Jeanette Solano, another participant in the clinical trial, underwent a 10-month odyssey before getting diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in the summer of 2024.
She traveled to Johns Hopkins where she was told her cancer was stage 3 and wrapped around vital veins and arteries.
The oncologist said only a lucky few in her condition made it to surgery and did not express optimism about her chances. Solano decided she would get there.
Solano, a Glendale resident and professor of religious studies at Cal State Fullerton, also consulted with Dr. Donahue.
“I had just gotten this terrible prognosis and I’m reeling from it,” she recalled. “That night I had a video consult with Dr. Donahue and he’s looking at my scans and he says, ‘I think you are actually borderline resectable and might be eligible for a trial.’ That gave me so much hope.”
Solano, whose family has a history of participating in clinical trials, liked the idea of how the immunotherapies worked together.
“It’s basically like a defense and offense combination,” she said. “I thought it was novel and unique and I was really lucky to be included.”
In addition to the trial, she received support services from the Simms/Mann UCLA Center for Integrative Oncology.
“It’s not just wonderful surgeons like Dr. Donahue and scientists like Dr. Wainberg, it’s the whole package you get at UCLA, helping you navigate a life-changing diagnosis,” she said. “UCLA does a really good job of understanding all the elements of a cancer diagnosis, integrating psycho-social and even spiritual support during those first few months when you are shattered.”
After her 11 sessions of infusions ended in February 2025, she met with four top surgeons around the country who were willing to take her to surgery.
“I ultimately decided to come back because I trusted Dr. Donahue and wanted to heal at home,” she said. “I had many great choices and I chose UCLA.”
By the time of surgery in March 2025, she said her tumor shrank from 4.2 centimeters to 0.33.
“I was a very dramatic responder,” she said.
She underwent an 8 ½-hour surgery to remove her tumor, which resulted in a total pancreatectomy because of the tumor location and blood vessels involved. Without a pancreas to produce insulin, she is now diabetic, which is very challenging.
Like Ukanwa Zeiger, she also had her gallbladder, bile duct and part of her small intestine removed. Solano also had her spleen removed.
Dr. Donahue said Solano experienced a major histopathological response with very few tumor cells still present.
“It’s an incredible outcome,” Dr. Donahue said. “With chemotherapy alone, without this combination, we would only see that very rarely. But we’re seeing it more and more with this more effective treatment. I think her prognosis is outstanding.”
Solano is receiving no further cancer treatment but undergoes routine monitoring. She has returned to teaching.
She has been traveling the world, including a trip with her husband and college student daughter to mark one year cancer free.
“We went to Iceland and saw the Northern Lights and sat in the hot springs while reveling in the beautiful world we live in, and celebrated being alive,” Solano said.
Solano said she believes clinical trials for pancreatic cancer are beginning to turn the tide and she encourages other patients to enroll.
“Trials are critical parts of advancing treatment,” she said. “There are no guarantees but I know they’re worth it.”
Dr. Wainberg said the study is very unique because it was conceived of and sponsored by UCLA Health rather than a drug company. The researchers secured funding from the National Institutes of Health and Department of Defense.
Jason Link, PhD, an associate adjunct professor of surgery and a member of the JCCC, is running the trial along with Drs. Donahue and Wainberg.
