Pancreatic cancer is the fourth deadliest cancer in America and it continues to take more lives every year. However, there are not many viable options to treat this pernicious cancer. We tested for levels of Transforming Growth Factor Beta (TGFB) and Programmed Cell Death 1 (PD-1) using Western blots. TGFB is used to suppress T cells which are responsible for targeting and destroying cancerous cells, so if we suppress TGFB there should be increased T cell activity. Furthermore, PD-1 also regulates T-cells, and inhibition of PD-1 should lead to specific targeting of the cancerous tumor. Therefore before clinical trials proceed, the levels of these two proteins in cancer cells need to be determined. Results showed that levels of TGFB did not increase significantly in cancerous cells and PD-1 was only expressed in the cancerous cells. Based on these results, we have concluded that TGFB is not necessarily an anticancerous agent and that PD-1 supports the growth of pancreatic cancer. Thus, further studies will need to be completed to analyze the relationship between TGFB and pancreatic cancer’s progression
