Scientists have made an important DNA discovery that could help treat one of the deadliest forms of cancer.
A team of British and US researchers have found that pancreatic cancer shuts down a molecule in one of the body’s most important genes, helping the disease grow and spread rapidly.
Pancreatic cancer is the 12th most common cancer in the world, with more than 500,000 people diagnosed each year. It also has the poorest survival rate of any of the most common cancers.
The deadly nature of pancreatic cancer has baffled experts for years, but this groundbreaking discovery offers hope in the search for treatments that can eradicate the disease.
Dr Maria Hatziappostoulou, from the John van Geest Cancer Research Centre at Nottingham Trent University, said: “This research has provided new understanding and knowledge about the behaviour of cancer which we hope will help pave the way for new treatments in future.”
She added: “Pancreatic cancer has the poorest survival rate of the 20 most common cancers, and there has been little improvement in patients’ five-year survival rates for some time, which is why it is vital we find new ways to better understand how the disease spreads and why it is so aggressive.”
Pancreatic cancer is often diagnosed at an advanced stage when treatment options are limited, and more than half of patients die within three months of diagnosis. Famous people who have died from the disease include Alan Rickman, John Hurt, Steve Jobs and Patrick Swayze.
In the study, published in the journal Gastro Hep Advances, researchers analyzed healthy and pancreatic cancer tissue samples and found that pancreatic cancer triggers a process called DNA methylation, which switches off normally beneficial molecules in the HNF4A gene, allowing tumours to grow extremely quickly.
The HNF4A gene is crucial to human health because it helps many organs in the body function properly, but researchers have discovered that pancreatic cancer can quietly negate the gene’s benefits.
“Loss of HNF4A has been shown to increase the progression and aggressiveness of pancreatic cancer and correlates with reduced patient survival,” Hatziapustolou said.
Scientists from the University of Nottingham, Stanford University, the University of California, and Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles also participated in the project.
Dr Chris McDonald, director of research at Pancreatic Cancer UK, which funded the research, said: “Gentler and more effective treatments for pancreatic cancer are desperately needed. The majority of pancreatic cancers are diagnosed at a late stage and 80% are not detected until the disease has spread and become inoperable.”
“This is reflected in poor survival rates: more than half of pancreatic cancer patients die within three months of diagnosis. A deeper fundamental understanding of why pancreatic cancer grows and spreads so rapidly is essential to achieving much-needed breakthroughs.”
“This project will provide new information about how pancreatic cancer suppresses certain molecules to aggressively spread throughout the body, which may lead to the development of more effective treatments in the future.”
