Pancreatic cancer has long been one of the deadliest cancers, in part because it hides behind a dense, protective environment that resists treatment. Now, scientists have developed a new way to see inside that environment as it functions in real time, uncovering how cancer recruits the immune system to help it survive.

The interdisciplinary research builds on the Engineering Cancer Cures collaboration between Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, part of the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, and the University of Miami College of Engineering. The effort focuses on developing and deploying technologies for the early detection, diagnosis and treatment of cancer.