Pancreatic cancer is one of the deadliest types of cancer in the world. The most common form is called pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma, or PDAC.
This disease spreads very quickly and is often found late, when treatment is difficult. At the moment, there are very few effective treatments, and only about 8 percent of patients live longer than five years after diagnosis.
Because of this, scientists have been searching for new ways to understand how this cancer grows and how it might be stopped.
Researchers at the Francis Crick Institute have now discovered a new clue that may lead to better treatments. Their study focused on a special group of cells inside tumors called cancer stem cells. These cells are different from ordinary cancer cells.
They act more like stem cells in the human body, which can grow, repair tissues, and change into different types of cells. Cancer stem cells can create new tumors and help the disease spread to other parts of the body. This makes them especially dangerous and a key target for scientists trying to stop cancer.
The research team, led by scientist Axel Behrens, found that a protein called CD9 sits on the surface of these cancer stem cells. A protein is a small molecule that helps cells carry out important tasks.
CD9 was found in both early and advanced tumors, which means it could help doctors identify the most harmful cancer cells. The presence of CD9 acts like a flag that marks the cells that drive tumor growth.
However, CD9 does more than just mark these cells. The scientists discovered that it also helps the cancer become more aggressive. In experiments with mice, when the amount of CD9 in cancer cells was reduced, the tumors that developed were much smaller.
When CD9 levels were increased, the cancer cells grew much faster and formed larger tumors. This shows that CD9 is not only a marker but also an important driver of tumor growth.
The team also examined medical data from patients with pancreatic cancer. They found that people whose tumors had higher levels of CD9 had worse survival.
About 10 percent of patients had very high levels of this protein, and these patients tended to have more severe disease. This strong link suggests that CD9 plays a major role in how dangerous the cancer becomes.
To understand why CD9 has this effect, the researchers looked at how cancer stem cells get the energy they need to grow. They discovered that CD9 helps the cells absorb more glutamine, a nutrient that acts as fuel for cancer.
With more glutamine, the cancer cells can multiply faster and become harder to control. Without enough fuel, the cells would struggle to survive.
This finding is important because it points to a new way to treat pancreatic cancer. If scientists can create medicines that block CD9 or stop cancer cells from absorbing glutamine, they may be able to slow down tumor growth or even stop it. Cutting off the cancer’s fuel supply could weaken the disease and make other treatments more effective.
Although more research is needed before new treatments become available, this discovery offers hope. Understanding how cancer stem cells survive and grow could lead to better therapies in the future and improve survival for patients facing this devastating disease.
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.
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