Pancreatic cancer is one of the most feared forms of cancer because it is often discovered late and can spread very quickly.
Among the different types of pancreatic cancer, pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma, known as PDAC, is the most common and the most aggressive.
Despite advances in cancer treatment, survival rates remain very low. Only a small percentage of patients survive for five years after diagnosis, highlighting the urgent need for better treatments.
Now, researchers at the Francis Crick Institute in the United Kingdom have uncovered an important clue about how this deadly cancer grows. Their findings could eventually lead to new treatments that target some of the most dangerous cancer cells in pancreatic tumors. The study was published in the scientific journal Nature Cell Biology.
The research team, led by scientist Axel Behrens, focused on a special group of cells known as cancer stem cells. These cells have attracted increasing attention from cancer researchers because they behave differently from ordinary cancer cells.
While many cancer cells make up the bulk of a tumor, cancer stem cells are believed to play a key role in helping tumors grow, spread, and return after treatment.
Cancer stem cells share some similarities with healthy stem cells found throughout the body. Healthy stem cells help repair damaged tissues and create new cells when needed.
Cancer stem cells, however, use these abilities for harmful purposes. They can generate new cancer cells, adapt to changing conditions, and help tumors survive treatments that might kill other cancer cells.
The researchers discovered that many pancreatic cancer stem cells carry a protein called CD9 on their surface. This protein acts like a marker that helps identify these particularly dangerous cells. However, the team found that CD9 is not simply a label. It also plays an active role in helping cancer grow and spread.
To understand the importance of CD9, the scientists conducted experiments using mice with pancreatic cancer. When they reduced the amount of CD9 in cancer cells, tumor growth slowed down and the tumors became smaller. In contrast, increasing CD9 levels caused tumors to grow more rapidly and become more aggressive.
The team then examined information from human patients with pancreatic cancer. They found a similar pattern. Patients whose tumors contained high levels of CD9 generally had poorer outcomes than those with lower levels. Approximately 10% of patients with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma showed particularly high levels of the protein.
The researchers wanted to understand why CD9 had such a strong effect on cancer growth. Their investigation revealed an important connection between CD9 and the way cancer stem cells obtain nutrients.
Like all living cells, cancer cells need energy to survive and multiply. The team found that CD9 helps cancer stem cells absorb a nutrient called glutamine.
Glutamine is an amino acid that serves as an important fuel source for many rapidly growing cells. By helping cancer stem cells take in more glutamine, CD9 provides the energy needed for tumors to expand and spread throughout the body.
This discovery may open the door to a completely new treatment strategy. Instead of directly attacking cancer cells with chemotherapy or radiation, future therapies might focus on blocking CD9 or preventing it from helping cancer stem cells absorb glutamine.
If researchers can successfully interrupt this process, they may be able to starve the cancer cells of the fuel they need to survive.
Scientists often compare this approach to cutting off the supply lines that support an enemy army. Without a steady supply of energy and nutrients, cancer stem cells may become weaker and less able to drive tumor growth.
The findings are especially exciting because pancreatic cancer has proven extremely difficult to treat. Many existing treatments provide only limited benefits, and patients urgently need more effective options.
Targeting cancer stem cells could be an important step forward because these cells are thought to be responsible for some of the disease’s most dangerous behaviors, including resistance to treatment and the ability to spread to other organs.
Although the research is still in its early stages, the results provide a promising new direction for scientists working to combat pancreatic cancer.
More studies will be needed to determine whether therapies targeting CD9 can be developed safely and effectively for patients. Clinical trials will also be required before any new treatment becomes widely available.
For now, the discovery offers hope that researchers are gaining a deeper understanding of one of the deadliest cancers. By uncovering how cancer stem cells obtain the fuel they need to grow, scientists may have identified a new weakness that could eventually be used to improve survival and outcomes for patients facing pancreatic cancer.
If you care about cancer, please read studies that artificial sweeteners are linked to higher cancer risk, and how drinking milk affects risks of heart disease and cancer.
For more health information, please see recent studies about the best time to take vitamins to prevent heart disease, and results showing vitamin D supplements strongly reduces cancer death.
The study was published in Nature Cell Biology.
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