Pancreatic cancer is one of the deadliest forms of cancer because it is often found late and can spread very quickly. The most common type is called pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), and it is very difficult to treat.
Even with modern treatments, only about 8% of patients are still alive five years after they are diagnosed. This has made the search for better treatments a major goal for cancer researchers around the world.
A new study from the Francis Crick Institute offers fresh hope. The research, led by Axel Behrens and published in Nature Cell Biology, has identified a protein that helps some of the most dangerous pancreatic cancer cells survive and grow. The discovery may open the door to new treatments that target these cells before they spread through the body.
The scientists focused on cancer stem cells. These are a small group of cells inside a tumor that behave in a similar way to healthy stem cells. Healthy stem cells help repair damaged tissues, but cancer stem cells do the opposite. They can keep making new cancer cells, help tumors grow again after treatment, and allow the disease to spread to other organs.
To better understand these cells, the researchers studied which genes were active inside them. They found that many cancer stem cells carried large amounts of a protein called CD9 on their surface. This protein appeared not only in large, advanced tumors but also in very early tumors, suggesting that it may help doctors identify dangerous cancer cells sooner.
The team also discovered that CD9 does much more than simply mark these cells. In experiments using mice, lowering the amount of CD9 caused tumors to stay smaller. Increasing CD9 had the opposite effect, making tumors grow faster and become much larger. These results showed that CD9 plays an important role in making pancreatic cancer more aggressive.
The researchers then examined information from people with pancreatic cancer. They found that patients whose tumors contained high levels of CD9 generally had poorer outcomes than those with lower levels. About one in ten people with PDAC had especially high amounts of this protein, suggesting that this group may face a greater risk from the disease.
To find out why CD9 had such a powerful effect, the team looked at how cancer stem cells obtain the nutrients they need. They discovered that CD9 helps these cells absorb more glutamine, a nutrient that rapidly growing cells use as fuel. By taking in extra glutamine, the cancer cells gain more energy to multiply and spread throughout the body.
This finding suggests a promising new treatment strategy. If future medicines can block CD9, they may reduce the amount of glutamine reaching cancer stem cells. Without enough fuel, these dangerous cells could become weaker, slowing tumor growth and making other cancer treatments more effective.
Although more studies are still needed before this approach can be tested in patients, the discovery provides scientists with an important new target. Every new finding helps researchers better understand pancreatic cancer and brings them a step closer to developing safer and more successful treatments for this devastating disease.
If you care about cancer, please read studies that a low-carb diet could increase overall cancer risk, and vitamin D supplements could strongly reduce cancer death.
For more health information, please see recent studies about how drinking milk affects the risks of heart disease and cancer and results showing higher intake of dairy foods linked to higher prostate cancer risk.
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