Stopping the growth and spread of pancreatic cancer
Pancreatic cancer remains one of the most deadly and aggressive forms of cancer. Professor Minoti Apte oam and her team made a crucial breakthrough in finding that the cells around the pancreas help the tumour to grow. By targeting these cells, the growth and spread of the cancer can be hindered, and this can significantly improve survival rates.
Background
Pancreatic cancer is one of the lethal forms of cancer, with only 6% of people surviving past five years in Australia. The disease is often diagnosed at an advanced stage, and as a result, only 10%-20% of patients are able to undergo surgical treatment. There is little benefit to pancreatic cancer patients from current chemotherapies, which means the survival rate has remained unchanged in the past three decades. There is an urgent need to find new approaches to treat this deadly type of cancer.
The research
- The poor outcome of pancreatic cancer is linked to the ability of the cancer to spread early on and quickly. Until this research, the exact reason for this aggressive behaviour was unclear. A previous study by Professor Apte’s group had established the cells surrounding the pancreas, called pancreatic stellate cells, are involved in producing scar tissue.
- Now, the team has proved these cells also stimulate cancer development and spread. The cells achieve this by producing several important chemicals. Professor Apte’s research examined whether interrupting the interaction between these chemicals and the cancer cells would slow cancer progression.
- The team discovered that by neutralising one of the chemicals, it is possible to reduce the growth of a tumour within the pancreas, and importantly, to also decrease its spread to other parts of the body.
The impact
This research project has opened up innovative opportunities for treating pancreatic cancer. The team found a combined approach of blocking a chemical produced by pancreatic stellate cells, in addition to standard chemotherapies, offered the highest possible reduction in cancer growth. Importantly, this combination also virtually eliminated the chance of cancer spreading compared to each approach on its own. The findings show that in order to significantly improve the prognosis of patients with pancreatic cancer, a combination of approaches is needed to target not only cancer cells, but the surrounding cells that are involved in the cancer process. The results of this research could also be applicable to other cancers that interact with surrounding cells in a similar way, such as breast and prostate cancers. Stopping the growth and spread of pancreatic cancers.
Research team
Professor Minoti Apte OAM
University of New South Wales
Professor Jeremy Wilson
Professor David Goldstein
Professor Rakesh Kumar
Associate Professor Romano Pirola