Targeting Tumor Architecture to Favor Drug Penetration: A New Weapon to Combat Chemoresistance in Pancreatic Cancer?

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDA) responds poorly to chemotherapy. In this issue of Cancer Cell, Provenzano et al. identify hyaluronan as a pivotal determinant of elevated interstitial fluid pressures (IFP) and vascular collapse in PDA. PEGPH20 treatment ablates stromal hyaluronan, normalizes IFP, and increases accessibility of tumor cells to anticancer drugs.