Pancreatic Cancer Tumor Model

We used 8- to 12-week-old non-obese diabetic (NOD)/severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID)/IL-2Rγ-null (NSG) male mice (Jackson Laboratory) under a protocol approved by the MSKCC Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee. Specified ratios of sLeA⁺ and sLeA⁻ Capan2 PDAC tumor cells sorted by FACS were injected into the pancreas of NSG mice after surgically opening the mice and exposing the pancreas under an institutional review board (IRB)-approved mouse protocol. 75,000 tumor cells were injected per mouse in 50% Matrigel. Mice were randomized to treatment, and treatment groups were blinded to personnel performing treatment and tumor assessment. Tumors established in the pancreas for 9 days, and then mice were treated with RT followed by T cells. Tumor volume was measured by bioluminescence imaging (BLI) using retro-orbital D-luciferin injection followed by IVIS imaging. The tumor burden for each mouse was expressed over time relative to that mouse’s baseline tumor BLI at the beginning of treatment.