Origins of Pancreatic Cancer May Have Been Found

Photo credits: Sharon Friedlander

Seen here are two clusters of precancerous cells

(lower half of image), which arose in pancreatic cells expressing

the pdx1 protein and the cancer gene K-ras.

By Ed Martinez

November 9, 2009

Pancreatic cancer kills an estimated 35,000 Americans each year. Learning more about its origins could help scientists diagnose it earlier, and would aid in the development of better treatments. “By the time pancreatic disease is typically diagnosed, it’s already very advanced and non-curable. Our new findings can help scientists focus their drug development efforts and lead them to new ways to detect the disease in early stages,” said Sharon Friedlander, a postdoctoral associate at MIT’s David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research.

MIT cancer biologists have identified a subpopulation of cells in mice that express a protein called pdx1, which can give rise to pancreatic cancer. The protein plays a major role in the development of the pancreas. When the cancer-promoting gene K-ras, commonly activated in tumors, was turned on in the pdx1-expressing cells, they became cancerous. Their research also revealed that tumors can form in other, more mature pancreatic cell types, but only when they become injured or inflamed.

According to Friedlander this suggests that pancreatic cancer can spring up from different types of cells depending on the circumstances.

MIT researchers plan to closely monitor the molecular events that take place during the development of pancreatic cancer in mice, with the intent to identify potential targets for drug treatments and protein markers for early diagnosis.