Pancreatic cancer is one of the deadliest cancers in the world. It is hard to treat and often gets worse quickly.
One of the most aggressive types is called pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma, or PDAC for short. Sadly, only about 8 out of every 100 people with this cancer live more than five years after they are diagnosed. This makes it one of the hardest cancers to survive.
But now, scientists from the Francis Crick Institute in the UK have made a new discovery that gives hope. A team led by Axel Behrens studied a special type of cell inside pancreatic tumors. These cells are called cancer stem cells.
They are not like regular cancer cells. Instead, they act like stem cells in healthy parts of the body. Just like healthy stem cells help heal the body, cancer stem cells help the tumor grow and spread. They are also a big reason why cancer comes back after treatment.
The scientists wanted to understand these cancer stem cells better. They found that a certain protein called CD9 appears on the surface of these cells. CD9 was found not only in large, old tumors but also in small, early ones. This means it could help doctors find dangerous cancer cells early.
But CD9 is not just useful for finding cancer cells. It also seems to help the cancer grow. In lab tests with mice, the researchers found that when they reduced the amount of CD9, the tumors stayed smaller. When they increased CD9, the tumors grew faster and became larger. This shows that CD9 helps the cancer get worse.
They also looked at data from real patients. People with high levels of CD9 in their tumor cells usually had worse outcomes. About one in ten patients with PDAC had high levels of CD9, and their cancers were more dangerous.
To learn more, the scientists studied how the cancer cells used nutrients. They found that CD9 helped the cancer stem cells take in more glutamine. Glutamine is a type of nutrient that helps cells grow. So, CD9 gave the cancer cells more fuel to grow faster.
This discovery is important. If future treatments can block CD9, they might be able to slow down or stop the cancer. By cutting off the cancer’s glutamine supply, doctors might keep it from growing or spreading.
While scientists still need to do more research, this study shows a new way to fight pancreatic cancer. It gives hope that we may one day turn this deadly disease into one that is easier to treat.
This work shows how research is always looking for better ways to solve the toughest health problems.
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 information about health, 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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