It would be possible to eliminate the metastatic capacity of pancreatic cancer cells so that they cannot form metastases
A breakthrough in pancreatic cancer research brings hope for the management of this particularly deadly disease. According to an Israeli study published on Wednesday, an experiment carried out on mice revealed that it is possible to eliminate the metastatic capacity of pancreatic cancer cells taken from patients, so that they cannot form metastases.
The researchers compared approximately 400 non-metastatic stage pancreatic cancer tumors to metastatic tumor cells and found that it was changes in the processing of RNA molecules in the cell, not genetic changes in DNA, that cause the tumor to become metastatic.
The two researchers who led the research are PhD student Amina Jabara and Professor Rotem Karni, an expert in the molecular biology of cancer at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem’s Faculty of Medicine. The two scientists have shown that by using a drug that inhibits the activity of a certain group of genes, and which is currently used to treat patients who have had organ transplants, it is possible to delay the formation of metastases pancreatic cancer.
Through genetic intervention in the process of processing the RNA (polymeric molecule) of target genes, researchers have also shown that it is possible to inhibit the metastatic capacity of pancreatic cancer cells taken from patients, so that they cannot metastasize when transplanted into mice.
Pancreatic cancer is considered the deadliest of all cancer types, and only a few percent of patients survive with the disease. Currently, there is no effective treatment for this cancer, which is generally discovered at its metastatic stage.
