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Oncology Research group · Acıbadem Mehmet Ali Aydınlar University

PANKAM — Pancreatic Cancer Research Center

Exploring how nerves and cancer cells interact in pancreatic cancer, and turning that knowledge into better treatments.

  • 10members
  • 19projects
  • 1partner
Pipette adding medium to a pink organoid culture dish

What we work on

At the Pancreatic Cancer Research Center we are a team of scientists exploring how nerves and cancer cells interact and how we can turn that knowledge into better treatments. Through research and collaboration we aim to unravel the biology of pancreatic cancer and bring hope to patients.

The centre's recent work shows that pancreatic cancer cells survive in the neural niche during neoadjuvant therapy, that sensory neurons drive progression through glutamatergic neuron–cancer pseudo-synapses, and that tumour-associated Schwann cells reduce natural killer cell activity against cancer cells. Other lines include 3D culture environments for spheroid morphology and drug response, pancreatic stellate cells and the extracellular matrix, eEF2K as a prognostic factor and molecular target, and sex differences in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma. Clinical studies with the surgical team cover endoscopic papillectomy scoring and postoperative pancreatic fistula after distal pancreatectomy.

PANKAM works closely with the pancreatic surgery group at the Technical University of Munich.

Lab website

Team 10

Principal investigator Prof. Güralp Onur Ceyhan Professor of General Surgery; lead of the Pancreatic Cancer Research Center (PANKAM) Leads PANKAM, where surgeons and scientists study how nerves and pancreatic cancer cells interact and turn that knowledge into treatments.

Projects & funders

Show all 19 projects

Selected outputs

  1. 2026

    Palecek V., Tüfekçi T., Gärtner P., Muckenhuber A., Jäger C., Göß R., et al. Correlation between inflammation, vascularization, adipocyte percentage and exocrine cell percentage at the resection margin and the postoperative pancreatic fistula rate after distal pancreatectomy. Langenbeck's Archives of Surgery, vol.411, no.1, 2026.

  2. 2026

    Demir I. E., Mota Reyes C., Berlet M., Demir E., Gürcinar I. H., CEYHAN G. O., et al. AI might be the next stage of our natural evolution: A cancer neuroscience perspective. Science signaling, vol.19, no.928, 2026.

  3. 2026

    Rauschenberg S., Orgler-Gasche E., KARAKAŞ ZEYBEK D., Regel I., Löhr J. M., Öhlund D., et al. Unveiling sex differences in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma: Current evidence and future directions (Review). International Journal of Oncology, vol.68, no.3, 2026.

  4. 2025

    Ren L., Liu C., Çifcibaşı K., Ballmann M., Rammes G., Mota Reyes C., et al. Sensory neurons drive pancreatic cancer progression through glutamatergic neuron-cancer pseudo-synapses. Cancer Cell, vol.43, no.12, pp.2241, 2025.

  5. 2025

    KARAKAŞ ZEYBEK D., SIĞIRLI S. Impact of different 3D culture environments on spheroid morphology, drug response, and invasion in pancreatic cancer cells. BMC Research Notes, vol.18, no.1, 2025.

  6. 2025

    Karakas D., Ashour A., Mokhlis H. A., Kahraman N., Bayraktar R., Dilmac S., et al. eEF2K is a poor prognostic factor and novel molecular target in pancreatic cancer: regulating tumor growth and progression via the tumor microenvironment. Cell Death and Disease, vol.16, no.1, 2025.

  7. 2025

    Kießler M., Jäger C., Mota Reyes C., Pergolini I., Schorn S., Göß R., et al. A retrospective, multicentric, nationwide analysis of the impact of splenectomy on survival of pancreatic cancer patients. Langenbeck's Archives of Surgery, vol.410, no.1, 2025.

  8. 2025

    Sığırlı S., Ekizce M., Çetinkaya S., Karakaş Zeybek D., Demir İ. E., Ceyhan G. O. Neuropeptide Y Promotes an Aggressive Phenotype in Pancreatic Cancer by Enhancing Neural Invasion and Modulating the Tumor Microenvironment. PANCREATOLOGY, vol.25, no.7, pp.1273, 2025.

  9. 2025

    Kavaklıoğlu B., Yıldızhan E. S., Ertetik U., Çevik N. C., Aldabash B., Karakaş Zeybek D., et al. Unraveling and Targeting Neural Invasion in Pancreatic Cancer: A Genomic Research. PANCREATOLOGY, vol.25, no.7, pp.1278, 2025.

  10. 2025

    Mota Reyes C., Kfuri-Rubends R., Halle L., Friedrich J. E., Çifcibaşı K., Acedo P., et al. Schwann Cell Dedifferentiation, Demyelination, and Nerve Remodeling Drive Neural Invasion in Pancreatic Cancer: The Concept of Neoplastic Gliopathy. PANCREATOLOGY, vol.25, no.7, pp.1258-1259, 2025.

Collaborations 1

Technical University of Munich, Klinikum rechts der Isar, Munich Acıbadem University, İstanbul
  • Technical University of Munich, Klinikum rechts der Isar Munich, Germany

From the group

Join us

We welcome enquiries from doctoral candidates, postdoctoral researchers and medical students who want to work on cancer neuroscience, organoid models and pancreatic surgery outcomes.

Open to rotation students