Scientists from The Institute of Cancer Research found it is possible to reverse a key process that allows pancreatic cancer cells to grow and spread around the body.
They found that a protein called GREM1 is key to regulating the type of cells found in pancreatic cancer—and manipulating its levels can both fuel and reverse the ability of these cells to change into a more aggressive subtype.
The researchers believe this fundamental discovery could ultimately pave the way for new pancreatic cancer treatments.
The research is published in Nature and was conducted by Professor Kristian Helin et al.
In the study, the team examined pancreatic cancer with the gene that makes the GREM1 protein switched off in mice, and in pancreatic “mini-tumors,” which are also known as organoids.
They found that switching off GREM1 caused the tumor cells to rapidly change shape and develop new properties that help them invade new tissues and migrate around the body.
Within just 10 days, all the tumor cells changed their identity into a dangerous, invasive cell type.
Switching off the gene also made tumors in mice more likely to spread.
The researchers found around 90 percent of mice without functioning GREM1 developed tumors which had spread to their liver, compared to 15 percent of mice where GREM1 was working normally.
The findings showed that boosting GREM1 levels could reverse this process and cause invasive cell types to revert to a less dangerous form.
The researchers hope, in the future, to use this knowledge to find ways to reverse more advanced pancreatic cancer into a less aggressive form, which is easier to treat.
They stress that the science is early stage, and significant amounts of research would be required to discover and develop treatments that change PDAC cell fates and make the tumor respond better to therapies.
However, fundamental discoveries such as this are crucial in directing efforts to find new cancer drugs and treatments.
Pancreatic cancer has the lowest survival rates of common cancers. Less than seven percent of people will survive for five years or more.
More than 10,000 people are diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in the UK each year, and more than 9,000 will die from it.
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