Pancreatic cancer, the third leading cause of
cancer-related deaths, is projected to be the second by the year 2030,
according to a study in the journal of Cancer Research. The five-year survival
rate is only 8 percent, making it the only major cancer with a survival rate in
the single digits. Despite rising mortality rates, pancreatic cancer is
under-researched and underfunded, and there are few Food and Drug
Administration-approved treatments to combat the disease.
With the current pipeline for drug discovery taking 10 to
15 years from the laboratory to use, and an estimated 41,780 who will die from
the disease this year alone, time is of the essence.
Now, patients suffering from pancreatic cancer may soon
face better treatment options due to the latest discovery by Dr. Reginald Hill,
Archibald Assistant Professor of Cancer Biology at the University of Notre Dame
and researcher at the Harper Cancer Research Institute. Hill's research focuses
on drugs that are already approved by the FDA to find out why those drugs are
not working in patients with pancreatic cancer.
In this study, the team found that blocking the release
of exosomes may help make chemotherapy more effective. Their findings were
published in the journal Oncogene.
"The bulk of a pancreatic cancer tumor is made of
approximately 10 percent cancer cells and 90 percent supporting cells. Somehow,
the supporting cells have figured out how to survive the chemotherapy,"
Hill explained in a press release. "Microscopic vesicles called exosomes,
bubbles with genetic material released by cells during chemotherapy exposure,
are released from supporting cells, educating the cancer cells on how to
survive, resulting in a tumor becoming chemoresistant."
During the research, Hill and his colleagues noted
conventional treatment methods for pancreatic cancer often cause more harm than
good. Most new research has focused on destroying supportive cells. However,
those studies concluded that when the supportive cells were attacked, patients
actually developed more advanced cancer.
"It was like poking holes into the area around the
cancer cells and allowing it to spread," Hill said.
By focusing on the release of exosomes, the team observed
a disruption in the relay of information between cancer cells and supporting
cells. Researchers recommend using exosome blockers, which are non-toxic, to
supplement existing chemotherapy approaches.
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