A mutated gene common to adenosquamous carcinoma tumors has been identified, the first known unique molecular signature for this rare, particularly virulent form of pancreatic cancer, by researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine.
The findings are published in the May 25 advance online issue of Nature Medicine.
Pancreatic Cancer
Pancreatic cancer often involves its exocrine part. It grows aggressively, and often detected late. Treatment options include surgery, radiation and chemotherapy.
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Pancreatic cancer is the fourth leading cause of cancer-related death in the United States, with roughly 45,220 new cases diagnosed and more than 38,400 deaths annually. Both numbers are rising. ASC cases are infrequent, but typically have a worse prognosis than more common types of pancreatic cancer.
"There has been little progress in understanding pancreatic ASC since these aggressive tumors were first described more than a century ago," said co-senior author Miles F. Wilkinson, PhD, professor in the Department of Reproductive Medicine and a member of the UC San Diego Institute for Genomic Medicine. "One problem has been identifying mutations unique to this class of tumors."
![Tissue Thought to be Aiding Pancreatic Cancer Growth Instead Helps Immune System Slow Down Tumor Growth]( "Tissue Thought to be Aiding Pancreatic Cancer Growth Instead Helps Immune System Slow Down Tumor Growth")
Researchers have found that fibrous tissue that is assumed to be behind the growth of pancreatic cancer instead supports an immune attack.
In their paper, Wilkinson, co-senior author Yanjun Lu, PhD, of Tongji University in China, and colleagues report that ASC pancreatic tumors have somatic or non-heritable mutations in the UPF1 gene, which is involved in a highly conserved RNA degradation pathway called nonsense-mediated RNA decay or NMD. It is the first known example of genetic alterations in an NMD gene in human tumors.
NMD has two major roles. First, it is a quality control mechanism used by cells to eliminate faulty messenger RNA (mRNA) - molecules that help transcribe genetic information into the construction of proteins essential to life. Second, it degrades a specific group of normal mRNAs, including those encoding proteins promoting cell growth, cell migration and cell survival. Loss of NMD in these tumors may "release the brakes on these molecules, and thereby driving tumor growth and spread," said Wilkinson.
Source: Eurekalert
Tissue Thought to be Aiding Pancreatic Cancer Growth Instead Helps Immune System Slow Down Tumor Growth
Researchers have found that fibrous tissue that is assumed to be behind the growth of pancreatic cancer instead supports an immune attack.
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In their paper, Wilkinson, co-senior author Yanjun Lu, PhD, of Tongji University in China, and colleagues report that ASC pancreatic tumors have somatic or non-heritable mutations in the UPF1 gene, which is involved in a highly conserved RNA degradation pathway called nonsense-mediated RNA decay or NMD. It is the first known example of genetic alterations in an NMD gene in human tumors.
NMD has two major roles. First, it is a quality control mechanism used by cells to eliminate faulty messenger RNA (mRNA) - molecules that help transcribe genetic information into the construction of proteins essential to life. Second, it degrades a specific group of normal mRNAs, including those encoding proteins promoting cell growth, cell migration and cell survival. Loss of NMD in these tumors may "release the brakes on these molecules, and thereby driving tumor growth and spread," said Wilkinson.
Source: Eurekalert
Pre-Cancerous Lesions
Encyclopedia section of medindia gives general information about Pre Cancerous Lesions
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New Method That Lets an Earlier Diagnosis of Pancreatic Cancer DevelopedResearchers have devised a new method than allows an earlier diagnosis of pancreatic cancer. | Advertisement
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