Scientists from UC San Francisco have found a key clue in the fight against one of the deadliest cancers—pancreatic cancer.
In a major study published in the journal Nature, the team discovered a protein called PCSK9 that may control where and how pancreatic cancer cells spread in the body. This breakthrough could lead to new ways to treat this aggressive disease.
Pancreatic cancer is especially dangerous because it is often not found until it has already spread to other parts of the body.
When that happens, treatment becomes much harder, and survival chances drop sharply. Scientists have long been searching for what helps cancer cells survive in new places like the liver or lungs. This new study helps answer that question.
The UCSF researchers looked at data from a project called MetMap. This project tracks how cancer cells move through the body. The team focused on cancer cells from the pancreas that tend to settle either in the liver or the lungs. They wanted to know what made the cells choose one place over another.
They found that a protein called PCSK9 plays a big role in this process. This protein affects how cancer cells get cholesterol, a fatty substance that cells need to grow and survive. Cholesterol is found in different amounts in different organs. The liver has a lot of it, while the lungs have much less.
The scientists discovered that when cancer cells had low levels of PCSK9, they absorbed cholesterol directly from the liver. But when PCSK9 levels were high, the cancer cells made their own cholesterol and created extra molecules to help them survive in the lungs, where oxygen levels are higher and conditions are harsher.
In a surprising twist, the researchers changed the genetic makeup of some liver-targeted cancer cells by increasing their PCSK9 levels. After this change, the cancer cells started to spread to the lungs instead. This means PCSK9 doesn’t just mark where the cells might go—it actually changes their behavior and helps them adapt to new environments.
Dr. Rushika Perera, one of the lead scientists, said that cancers survive by learning to live in different parts of the body. The protein PCSK9 helps pancreatic cancer cells do exactly that. She believes that by changing how cells get their cholesterol, we may be able to stop them from spreading.
This discovery is very important because it may lead to new treatments that stop pancreatic cancer from moving to other organs. Pancreatic cancer is one of the hardest cancers to treat, especially once it has spread. Targeting PCSK9 might be one way to stop that spread.
The study received support from several major health organizations, including the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation. This shows how urgent and important this research is.
While more research is needed before this approach can be used in hospitals, this is a big step forward. It shows how a single protein can have a huge impact on cancer’s ability to spread. It also highlights why understanding how cancer cells interact with different organs is key to creating better treatments.
If you are interested in cancer research, it’s also worth learning about studies that suggest a low-carb diet may increase cancer risk, or ways to help cancer survivors live longer. Other recent research shows that certain superfoods may help fight cancer, and that taking vitamin D3 daily might lower the risk of dying from cancer.
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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