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Scientists have understood the reason for the development of pancreatic cancer
Last reviewed: 01.07.2025
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Researchers at the Mayo Clinic in Florida have developed a new strategy that could improve the treatment of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma, which accounts for more than 95 percent of pancreatic cancers. It is a fast-growing, often fatal cancer that is resistant to traditional chemotherapy.
The results of the study were published in the January issue of the scientific journal PLoS ONE.
Researchers have decoded molecular pathways that are constantly switched on, which contributes to the accelerated growth of pancreatic tumors. The scientists' discovery suggests that there is a way to "switch off" these molecular pathways. The experts say that their strategy, which works with the help of the anti-tumor drug bortezomib, has already proven successful in several cases of blood cancer.
"The goal of our strategy is to reduce the spread of cancer cells, which may help treat pancreatic cancer," said lead study author Dr. Peter Storz, a professor of biochemistry and molecular biology at the Mayo Clinic.
One of the features of pancreatic cancer is the activation of NF-kappaB, which may be one of the factors in cancer resistance to chemotherapy.
NF-kappaB is a transcription factor that has been implicated in cancer-associated inflammation, turning on gene expression that maintains cell proliferation and protects them from death.
There are two pathways for NF-kappaB activation, the so-called classical and alternative pathways. Scientists have focused on the alternative pathway, which involves different genes than the classical pathway. Both pathways are actively involved in the development of pancreatic cancer.
Researchers have found that NF-kappaB activity depends on a protein called TRAF2. Insufficient amounts of this protein in the body contribute to the rapid growth of pancreatic tumors.
They made this discovery by studying fifty-five pancreatic cancer samples and found that 69% of patients had low levels of the TRAF2 protein, but high levels of other molecules involved in the alternative pathway of NF-kappaB activation were detected.
A 'cocktail' of drugs, chemotherapy, bortezomib and other inhibitors, may help pancreatic cancer patients, scientists say.
Experts say the strategy requires large-scale clinical trials, but the findings offer hope for improved treatments for pancreatic cancer.
Pancreatic cancer is a malignant tumor that is the sixth most common cancer and affects mainly older people. Pancreatic cancer symptoms are often not expressed, which makes it difficult to diagnose the tumor at an early stage of its development.
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