Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma is profoundly treatment-resistant, due to intrinsic properties of the tumor cells and the complex tumor microenvironment. Consequently, surgical resection of the primary tumor is still the only intervention that significantly prolongs patient survival. This points at an urgent need for more effective (neo)adjuvant strategies to increase the fraction of patients eligible to surgery and to counter post-surgery disease recurrence. The advent of single-cell RNA-sequencing has created an opportunity for the development of a highly potent, patient-tailored adjuvant treatment that is based on the infusion of genetically engineered autologous T-cells armed with tumor-reactive T-cell receptors as identified in the patient′s own tumor sample.

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma is profoundly treatment-resistant, due to intrinsic properties of the tumor cells and the complex tumor microenvironment. Consequently, surgical resection of the primary tumor is still the only intervention that significantly prolongs patient survival. This points at an urgent need for more effective (neo)adjuvant strategies to increase the fraction of patients eligible to surgery and to counter post-surgery disease recurrence. The advent of single-cell RNA-sequencing has created an opportunity for the development of a highly potent, patient-tailored adjuvant treatment that is based on the infusion of genetically engineered autologous T-cells armed with tumor-reactive T-cell receptors as identified in the patient′s own tumor sample.