The 5-year survival rate for patients diagnosed with pancreatic cancer is only 6%, which is the lowest of all common types of cancer, and survival rates have largely not improved in the past 40 years. Major surgery remains the only way to treat pancreatic cancer, but only before the tumor has spread to organs. In most cases, patients find pancreatic cancer too late to make a full recovery, even with surgery. Viruses may be able to deal with pancreatic cancer? Pancreatic cancer is resistant to conventional treatments such as chemotherapy and radiation because pancreatic tumors have a distinctive structure, with tumors containing high concentrations of stromal cells. These cells interact with pancreatic cancer cells to protect and promote tumor growth. The latest study describes the “ecosystem” of pancreatic cancer tumors, which includes a complex network of stromal and malignant cells. Stromal cells normally help maintain tissue, but can also be incorporated by cancer cells to promote tumor growth. The same biology that makes pancreatic tumors so persistent also makes them vulnerable to attack by designer viruses. The researchers isolated these cell types and studied how they interacted with each other and with the virus. Contrary to the expected results, the researchers found that the interactions between stromal cells and malignant tumor cells make them more susceptible to viral infection, so viral infection may be a new idea for treating pancreatic cancer.