Pancreatic cancer is one of the toughest cancers to treat, especially a type called pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma. It spreads quickly and is very hard to stop.
Sadly, most people who are diagnosed with this kind of cancer don’t live more than five years. But scientists are working hard to find better ways to treat it, and some recent research gives new hope.
At the Francis Crick Institute, a team of researchers led by Axel Behrens studied a special kind of cell found in pancreatic tumors. These are called cancer stem cells.
They’re a big problem because they can create new tumors and turn into other types of cancer cells. This makes the cancer stronger and harder to treat. So, finding these cells in a tumor could help doctors come up with better treatments.
The researchers discovered that these cancer stem cells have a protein on their surface called CD9. This protein shows up both when the cancer is just starting and when it is more advanced. It’s like a marker that helps doctors find the dangerous cells.
But CD9 isn’t just helpful for finding the cells—it also makes the cancer worse. The scientists did tests with mice and found that when they reduced CD9 in cancer cells, the tumors that grew were smaller.
When they increased CD9, the cancer grew faster and the tumors got bigger. They also looked at patients with this cancer and saw that those with more CD9 in their cancer cells usually had a more serious form of the disease. Around 10% of patients have very high levels of CD9.
The next step for the scientists was to figure out how CD9 makes the cancer more dangerous. They discovered that CD9 helps cancer cells absorb more of a nutrient called glutamine. Glutamine acts like food for the cancer and helps it grow and spread.
Now that they understand this, the scientists believe they can create new treatments that target CD9. If they block CD9, they might be able to stop the cancer from getting the glutamine it needs to grow. It would be like cutting off the cancer’s food supply.
This research is a big step forward in the fight against pancreatic cancer. It could lead to better treatments for a disease that has been very hard to beat. It also shows how important scientific research is in finding ways to save lives and improve health.
If you care about cancer, please read studies about A common blood thinner can help fight cancer and findings of Heavy alcohol drinking is common in cancer patients.
For more information about cancer, please read studies about Catching the silent killer: a new study on esophageal cancer and findings of New trick knocks out tough guy prostate cancer.
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