Henry Ford Health System in Detroit has announced a $16 million gift in support of the Henry Ford Pancreatic Cancer Center from a donor who wishes to remain anonymous.

Established in 2018 with $20 million from the same donor, the center will use the latest gift to build and strengthen key partnerships and advance clinical and translational pancreatic cancer research. According to HFHS, approximately 80 percent of pancreatic cancer cases are diagnosed too late to benefit from curative treatment. A major focus of the center is the evaluation of preexisting patient radiographic data and the identification of biomarkers, both of which could lead to earlier detection of the disease.

"We are excited to bring together the world's most innovative minds to accelerate the pace of discovery and understanding," said HFPCC clinical director David Kwon. "With such generous funding, we are able to think outside the traditional research paradigms to create a foundational and innovative infrastructure of expert teams that would otherwise not be feasible. This allows us to attract premier scientists and establish collaborations with the world's best researchers, clinicians, and industry leaders. The goal is to build a center that will continue to foster ground-breaking research in the fight against pancreatic cancer."

(Photo credit: Henry Ford Health System)