New Gene Explains Why Pancreatic Cancer Is So Aggressive
New Gene Explains Why Pancreatic Cancer Is So Aggressive – Researchers at the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center have found a gene called ATDC that plays a key role in the aggressive spread of pancreatic cancer.
Survival rates from pancreatic cancer is very low, only 30%, even in early stages. Studies show that cancerous cells manage to spread to distant parts of the body early on.
Researchers replicated pancreatic cancer in a mouse, and also studied human pancreatic tissue samples, and found that the gene ATDC in a subset of preinvasive cells, and that it promoted development of pancreatic cancer stem cells.
Study author Diane M. Simeone and her team believe that they could use this gene as a target for treatment. The study was published in the Jan. 15 issue of Genes and Development.
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