Nieuwe ontdekking maakt weg vrij voor behandeling
alvleesklierkanker
Volgens een studie in het ‘Journal of Cancer Research wordt
alvleesklierkanker, de derde belangrijke oorzaak van kanker
gerelateerde sterfgevallen, als tweede belangrijke geprojecteerd
tegen het jaar 2030. De vijfjaarsoverleving is slechts 8 procent wat
betekent dat het de enige grote kanker is met een overlevingskans
van één enkel cijfer. Ondanks de stijgende sterftecijfers zijn er te
weinig financiële middelen voor onderzoek en weinig door de ‘Food
and Drug Administration’ goedgekeurde behandelingen om de ziekte te
bestrijden.
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verder
Kunstmatige alvleesklierbehandeling werkt goed in
proefonderzoek
Onderzoekers melden een doorbraak in de ontwikkeling van een
kunstmatige alvleesklier (pancreas) voor diabetes en andere
aandoeningen, die tot stand is gekomen door het combineren van
technologieën: de mechanische, kunstmatige alvleesklier, en een
transplantatie van de insulineproducerende cellen (eilandjes van
Langerhans).
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Chinees kruiden extract kan helpen bij het elimineren
van
alvleesklierkankercellen
Onderzoekers van de universiteit van Minnesota
ontdekken de werkzaamheid van Lei Gong Teng bij het blokkeren van
een eiwit dat alvleesklier kankercellen helpt te overleven. De diagnose alvleesklierkanker kan verwoestend
zijn. Deels door de agressieve celdeling en tumorgroei, ontwikkelt
alvleesklierkanker zich snel en heeft een lage overlevingskans van
vijf jaar (minder dan 5 procent).
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Oud Chinees medicijn tegen
pancreaskanker
De schors van de Amoer
kurkboom (Phellodendron amurense) is al eeuwenlang gekend in de
Chinese geneeskunde. Nu wordt het door de wetenschap ingezet in
de strijd tegen alvleesklierkanker met het potentieel voor nog
meer toepassingen. UT Health Science Center
onderzoeker A. Pratap Kumar onderzocht het kurkeik extract voor
de behandeling van prostaatkanker en ontdekte dat dodelijk
pancreaskankers vergelijkbare ontwikkelingstrajecten hebben met
prostaattumoren.
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Roken, zwaar drinken gekoppeld aan
eerder begin van pancreas kanker
University of
Michigan Health System studie maakt een stap de richting te
leren wanneer kanker screening moet starten. Degenen die zwaar
roken en drinken, zouden op een vroegere leeftijd pancreas
kanker kunnen ontwikkelen dan degenen die dat niet doen, volgens
een studie geleid door een universiteit van Michigan Health
System gastro-enteroloog. In de studie, gepubliceerd in het
Amerikaanse tijdschrift over gastro-enterologie, werden zware
rokers met alvleesklierkanker gediagnosticeerd rond leeftijd 62
en zware drinkers op de leeftijd van 61-bijna een decennium
eerder dan de gemiddelde leeftijd van 72. Roken is een sterke
risicofactor bij alvleesklierkanker en bij alcohol is aangetoond
dat er oxidatieve schade aan de alvleesklier veroorzaakt wordt,
waarin het patroon voor de inflammatoire trajecten die tot
kanker leiden gezet wordt. De bevindingen wijzen er alleen op
dat deze gewoonten eerder kunnen leiden tot de ontwikkeling van
pancreas kanker in het leven.
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Alvleesklierkanker gebruikt
fructose, zoals in westers voedsel voorkomt om tot groei te komen
Alvleesklierkankers gebruiken
fructosesiroop, zoals die in veel westers voedsel voorkomt, om een weg te effenen die er
voor zorgt dat celdeling versneld, volgens een studie van UCLA's Jonsson Comprehensive
Cancer Center. Alhoewel breed bekend is dat kanker glucose gebruikt, een simpele suiker,
om de groei te bevorderen,is dit de eerste keer dat er een verband is aangetoond tussen
kankergroei en fructose, volgens een onderzoek van Dr. Anthony Heaney, een professor in de
medicijnen en neurochirurgie van
Jonsson Cancer Center. Tussen 1970 en 1990 is het gebruik van HFCS met meer dan 1000%
toegenomen volgens een artikel in april 2004, uitgegeven door American Journal of Clinical
Nutrition. Voedsel producenten gebruiken HFCS,een mengsel van fructose en glucose, omdat
het goedkoop is, makkelijk te vervoeren en te bewaren. En door het hoge zoetgehalte, is
het kostendrukkend voor bedrijven om kleine hoeveelheden HFCS te gebruiken ipv duurdere
alternatieven.
Lees verder
Pieter Tau
Gerichte immunotherapie toont
belofte voor gemetastaseerde
borstkanker, pancreatische kanker
De eerste experimenten met behulp van
gerichte monoklonale antilichamen in combinatie met bestaande therapieën tonen belofte
bij de behandeling van pancreatische kanker en gemetastaseerde borstkanker. Dit blijkt uit
een onderzoek dat zal worden gepresenteerd door onderzoekers van de Universiteit van het
Pennsylvania Abramson Cancer Center op de 2010-bijeenkomst van de American Society of
Clinical Oncology.
Link
Eric van Staalduinen
Lage hoeveelheid Arsenicum schaadt
de hoeveelheid glucose bevorderende afscheiding van insuline in Beta-cellen van de
alvleesklier
Chronische blootstelling aan hoge niveaus
van anorganisch arsenicum wordt gerelateerd aan een breed spectrum van menselijke kwalen,
inclusief type 2 diabetes. Een zeer belangrijke stap in de pathogenese (de wijze van
ontstaan en ontwikkeling van een ziekte) van type 2 diabetes is een stoornis van
glucose-bevorderende insulineafscheiding (GSIS) van ?-cellen. De reactieve zuurstofsoorten
(ROS) die uit het glucosemetabolisme worden afgeleid dienen als één van de metabolische
signalen voor GSIS. "Kern factor-erythroid 2 (Nrf2)" is een centrale
overzettingsfactor die de cellulaire aanpassingsreactie op oxydatieve spanning regelt. Fu
et al. (p. 864) hebben de hypothese getest dat de activering van Nrf2 en inductie van
anti-oxyderende enzymen in antwoord op arsenicumblootstelling het signaleren van ROS en zo
GSIS in aangekweekte cellen belemmert. De auteurs concluderen dat de lage niveaus van
arsenicum een cellulaire aanpassing / oxydatieve spanningsreactie veroorzaken, die
anti-oxyderende niveaus verhoogt, en het signaleren van/door ROS betrokken bij GSIS
verstoort, en ook de celfunctie.
Link
Dennis Morrien
Zonder drainage minder complicaties
bij operatie van alvleesklierkanker
In Nederland en veel andere landen krijgen
patiënten die geopereerd moeten worden vanwege alvleesklierkanker voorafgaand aan de
operatie standaard galwegdrainage.
Link
Bij alvleesklierkanker direct
opereren
Patiënten met alvleesklierkanker moeten
direct worden geopereerd aan de tumor, zonder dat er eerst een galwegdrainage plaatsvindt.
Link
Video - Belly
Fat Can cause Pancreatic Cancer
Why could ethyl pyruvate attenuate
severe acute pancreatitis?
Excessive activation of inflammatory mediator cascade during SAP is a major cause of
distant organ injury and the high mortality. Cytokines such as TNF- alpha and IL-1 beta
are released early in the development of systemic inflammatory response. This leaves a
narrow therapeutic window for administration of therapeutics and delayed delivery of that
anti-inflammatory therapeutics is not effective after the inflammatory mediator cascade
has developed. A research article to be published on July 28, 2008 in the World Journal of
Gastroenterology addresses this question. The research team led by Prof. Wang from Centre
of Pancreatic Surgery of Xiehe Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of
Sciecne and Technology, demonstrated that the serum levels of HMGB1 began to rise
significantly at 12 h, and maintained at high levels up to 48 h after induction of
experimental SAP in rats. The delayed kinetics indicated that HMGB1 may provide a broader
therapeutic window for treating this lethal systemic inflammatory disease. EP was proved
could inhibit HMGB1 release from macrophages and prevent the accumulation of serum HMGB1
levels in mice with lethal sepsis through inhibiting NF- kappaB and p38 MAPK signaling.
The research, performed by this team, investigated whether delayed EP therapy attenuates
experimental SAP via reducing serum HMGB1 levels in rats or not.
Lees verder
Zinc transporters regulate
pancreatic cancer
Zinc, an important trace element for healthy growth and development, can be related to
pancreatic cancer. Too much ZIP4, a molecule that enables the transport of zinc into
cells, promotes the growth and spread of pancreatic tumors cells, said a group of
researchers from Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, the University of Texas M.D.
Anderson Cancer Center and the University of Florida in Gainesville, in a report which
appears online today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
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Tiny samples could yield big
predictive markers for pancreatic cancer
A handful of proteins, detected in incredibly tiny amounts, may one day help doctors
distinguish between a harmless lesion in the pancreas and a potentially deadly one, say
researchers at Fox Chase Cancer Center. The researchers believe that these protein
biomarkers, if confirmed in subsequent studies, could represent reliable indicators of
pancreatic cancer or precancerous pancreatic lesions, which would allow for earlier,
perhaps more successful, treatment. Their findings appear in the March issue of the
journal Pancreas, available online now. "New technologies have become very good at
identifying pancreatic cysts when they appear, but we know very little about how to
categorize these cysts," says the study's senior author Anthony Yeung, Ph.D.,
molecular biologist and member of Fox Chase's faculty. "We can detect, in as little
as 40 microliters of cyst fluids a group of proteins that might collectively be used as
indicators of a potentially cancerous cyst." The difficulty of detecting pancreatic
cancer early is one of the reasons that the disease remains one of the deadliest forms of
cancer. In some cases, pancreatic cancer develops within small pancreatic cysts that are
originally benign, but become cancerous over time. As high-resolution imaging techniques,
such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), are used more often in clinical medicine,
doctors are finding many more small, fluid-filled cystic lesions of the pancreas.
"Many of these cysts are completely benign and have little or no risk of becoming
cancerous. However, a subset of pancreatic cysts carry a real risk of becoming malignant
over time," says co-author Jeffrey Tokar, M.D., Fox Chase gastroenterologist.
"Many patients with pancreatic cysts are referred to us for endoscopic needle
aspiration of fluid within the cyst, which is then sent to the laboratory and a variety of
tests are commonly performed. However, while these tests can be useful, it often remains
impossible to tell a patient their absolute risk of progression to cancer."
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Two New Therapies Show Promise for
Cancer Patients
Clinical trial data and cutting-edge testing give key insights in the fight against basal
cell carcinoma and pancreatic cancer. San Diego and Phoenix—April 15,
2008—Clinical researchers at Scottsdale Healthcare and TGen today announced the
results of two clinical trials that show promise for patients battling cancer. The Phase I
clinical trial findings, presented at the this weeks Annual Meeting of the American
Association for Cancer Research by Daniel Von Hoff, MD, FACG, focused on basal cell
carcinoma (BCC) and pancreatic cancer. The Arizona trials were conducted at TGen's
Clinical Research Service (TCRS) at Scottsdale Healthcare, a strategic alliance between
TGen and Scottsdale Healthcare’s Clinical Research Institute. Basal Cell Carcinoma In
the first trial, a novel molecule, GDC-0449, shrinks tumors in basal cell carcinoma (BCC)
while having limited side effects, including a loss of sense of taste, and a small amount
of hair loss and weight loss, suggesting a viable new treatment option. GDC-0449 works by
blocking a pathway — a series of chemical reactions within a cell— known as
Hedgehog, containing two genes (PTCH and SMO) that lead to a known tumor-promoting gene
called GLI1. Alterations in any of these genes have been shown to lead to basal cell
carcinoma and other diseases. GDC-0449 is a chemical synthetic designed to replicate the
properties of cyclopamine, a chemical found in nature.
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Calorie restricted diet prevents
pancreatic inflammation and cancer
Prevention of weight gain with a restricted calorie diet sharply reduced the development
of pancreatic lesions that lead to cancer in pre-clinical research reported today by
researchers from the University of Texas at Austin and the University of Texas M. D.
Anderson Cancer Center at the American Association for Cancer Research annual meeting.
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verder
Jefferson Scientists’
Discovery May Help Explain Smoking-Pancreatic Cancer Link
If lung cancer and heart disease aren’t bad enough, cigarette smokers are also at
higher risk for developing, among other things, pancreatic cancer. Now, researchers at the
Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson in Philadelphia have preliminary evidence indicating one
possible reason why. Data being presented April 13, 2008 during the Annual Meeting of the
American Association for Cancer Research shows that they have found that nicotine in
cigarettes increases the production of a protein that is known to promote cancer cell
survival, invasion and spread.
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Therapies delivered by
"trojan" peptides and through the use of nanotechnology may enhance the
effectiveness of cancer treatment
Christina Kousparou, Ph.D., Head of Research at Trojantec Ltd, reported that using the
Antennapedia protein as a "trojan horse" to pierce the outer layer of a cancer
cell and deliver p21, a known tumor suppressor protein, successfully reduced malignant
tumors in mice. Intravenous treatment with p21 by this method brought the cancer cell
growth and death cycle to a halt and slowed tumor growth. Mice given this protein also
lived longer than a control group of animals. Researchers had speculated that p21 would
increase sensitivity to chemotherapy. The combination of p21 with chemotherapy resulted in
total tumor eradication in 40% of animals and a reduction in tumor burden in 100% of
animals.
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New studies on the Mediterranean
diet confirm its effectiveness for chronic disease prevention
Scientists of the Instituto de Nutrición y Tecnología de los Alimentos (Institute of
Nutrition and Food Technology) of the University of Granada (UGR, Spain) have been doing
research into the positive effects of Mediterranean diet's ingredients on health. Among
these works, there is a new research line about pancreatic cancer cells. Emilio Martínez
de Victoria Muñoz, director of the Institute, points out that in the study 'Influence of
the ingredients of the Mediterranean diet on a cell line on pancreatic cancer cells'
(UGR-Junta de Andalucía) they have manipulated the composition of the cell membrane
providing olive oil, fish oil or an antioxidant typical of olive oil, analysing how such
cells defend themselves from the aggressions which cause pancreatic alterations".The
objective is to expose olive oil compounds (such as oleic acid) and fruit and vegetable
antioxidants to "membranes of a pancreatic cancer cell line in such a way that they
become more or less resistant to harmful stimulus which cause diseases such as cancer or
pancreatitis".This way, the research work intends to correlate the composition of
cell membranes with more or less resistance to suffering from different types of disease.
The conclusions suggest that feeding and changes in membrane composition affect cell
function and can therefore influence the prevention of certain diseases.
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Naturally-occurring apple compounds
reduce risk of pancreatic cancer
Eating flavonol-rich foods like apples may help reduce the risk of pancreatic cancer,
especially in smokers.
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Mesothelin engineered on virus-like
particles provides treatment clues for pancreatic cancer
New understanding of a protein that spurs the growth of pancreatic cancer could lead to a
new vaccine against the deadly disease, said researchers at Baylor College of Medicine in
Houston in a report appearing in the current edition of the journal Molecular Cancer
Therapeutics.
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New drug substantially extends
survival in pancreatic cancer
A new form of chemotherapy that destroys new blood vessels that grow around tumors has
produced excellent results in a phase II trial of patients with inoperable pancreatic
cancer. European investigators led by Prof. Matthias Löhr from the Karolinska Institute
evaluated the efficacy and safety of three different doses of cationic lipid complexed
paclitaxel (EndoTAG-1) administered twice weekly, in combination with weekly infusions of
gemcitabine, compared to gemcitabine alone, in 200 patients with pancreatic
adenocarcinoma. “EndoTAG consists of charged particles that bind preferentially to
the fast-growing endothelial cells in new blood vessels being formed by tumors,”
Prof. Löhr explained. “The drug, paclitaxel, is then released and thus directly
reaches an important target in tumors, i.e. the vessels. Paclitaxel itself is not very
efficient in pancreratic cancer.”
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verder
Study Finds Even Stronger
Relationship Between High Body Mass Index, Pancreatic Cancer
In reviewing the weight history of pancreatic cancer patients across their life spans,
researchers at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center have determined that a
high body mass index in early adulthood may play a significant role in an individual
developing the disease at an earlier age. The study, published in the June 24 issue of the
Journal of the American Medical Association, also found that patients who are obese the
year before diagnosis have a poorer outcome than those who are not. While excess weight is
a known risk factor associated with pancreatic cancer, before now, few studies have looked
at patients' body mass index (BMI) throughout their lifetime rather than simply at
adulthood and/or year of disease diagnosis. "This is the first study to explore at
which ages excess body weight predisposes an individual to pancreatic cancer," said
Donghui Li, Ph.D., professor in M. D. Anderson's Department of Gastrointestinal Medical
Oncology and the study's corresponding author. "With our epidemiological research, we
aimed to demonstrate the relationship between BMI and risk of pancreatic cancer across a
patient's life span and determine if there was a time period that specifically predisposes
an individual to the disease, as well as the link between BMI and cancer occurrence and
overall survival of the disease."
Lees verder
Studies Spot Numerous Undiscovered
Gene Alterations In Pancreatic and Brain Cancers
HHMI investigators have detected a multitude of broken, missing, and overactive genes in
pancreatic and brain tumors, in the most detailed genetic survey yet of any human tumor.
Some of these genetic changes were previously unknown and could provide new leads for
improved diagnosis and therapy for these devastating cancers.
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Jefferson scientists find protein
may be key in developing deadly form of pancreatic cancer
A tumor-blocking protein previously implicated in prostate and breast cancer development
may also be behind the most aggressive type of pancreatic cancer. Researchers have
discovered that the protein pp32 -- which normally applies the brakes on a cancer-causing
gene -- is missing in an aggressive form of pancreatic cancer. Though the work is
preliminary, the scientists say, the absent protein could eventually become a marker for
the disease and a potential drug target.
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Taking the fight against cancer to
heart
Hormones produced by the heart eliminated human pancreatic cancer in more than
three-quarters of the mice treated with the hormones and eliminated human breast cancer in
two-thirds of the mice. The treatment has not yet been tried in humans, but clinical
trials are in the planning stages. The research will be presented at a symposium April 9
at the Experimental Biology 2008 conference in San Diego.
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New Options When An Old Enemy
Returns
Pancreatic cancer is one of the most challenging malignancies to treat, and recurrence is
common, even after initial treatment with surgery and radiation. When the cancer does
return, treatment options are often limited to chemotherapy, but researchers at Georgetown
University Hospital’s Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center are utilizing the
precision allowed by CyberKnife® to see if radiosurgery is a viable treatment option in
select patients. “When treating recurrent pancreatic tumors, there are a number of
factors to evaluate before we can consider radiosurgery as an additional treatment
option,” explains Christopher Lominska, M.D., lead author of the study and a resident
in radiation medicine at Lombardi. “First, treatment must be safe, which is
demonstrated in this study. We also designed a treatment that can be delivered in a short
period of time -- a critically important quality-of-life factor in this patient
population.”
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New technique invented to reveal
pancreatic stem cells
Just like those absconders chased by police all over the world, everybody can tell about
their good deeds but none really knows how to recognize them. Yet, as of today, thanks to
a study just published in the Proceedings of the National Accademy of Sciences (PNAS) and
authored by Nobel Laureate for Medicine in 2007 Mario Capecchi and by the researcher from
the Catholic University of Rome Eugenio Sangiorgi, we now know how to reveal the stem
cells camouflaged in the pancreas.A stem cell is a cell capable of generating all the
other cells constituting the same tissue (sometimes also called "adult stem
cell"). "Reading the newspapers sometimes one would doubt it – says
Sangiorgi – but we don't know many things about stem cells. It might look odd, but
for instance we don't have a method to distinguish a priori between a stem cell and any
other cell in the same tissue. We can only infer that a cell really is a stem cell by
observing its behaviour". In other words, when a researcher encounters a tissue, it's
not immediately possible to identify with certainty and thus isolate a stem cell. In some
case, like in the meadows, we now know where they are located and how to single them out
– and hence we have been capable of successful life saving transplants for many
years. But in the case of the pancreas, as in that of many other tissues, until some years
ago we doubted that these special cells were even present there. "Together with
Professor Capecchi, we had already designed in the past a novel way to mark the stem cells
in a tissue: a sort of little flag, capable of helping us to effectively label the cells
we were looking for", explains Sangiorgi. In order to achieve this, Capecchi and
Sangiorgi used a molecular switch, that is a piece of DNA, which activates itself once the
mouse under scrutiny takes a special drug. When the switch is "on", a special
fluorescent protein is produced (and, as a matter of fact, the study about this type of
proteins won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry last October). The luminous cells are indeed the
long-sought stem cells. "In order to understand that these are really stem cells, we
need only to wait", comments Sangiorgi. "A normal cell is sooner or later
destined to die. A stem cell, instead, retains its capacity to renew itself and replicate.
Thus, if we can still observe, many months later, that a cell is still alive, that means
it is indeed a stem cell – or a cell derived directly from the division of a stem
cell". In the newly published article, Sangiorgi and Capecchi have shown with their
technique that a particular subset of the pancreatic cells, the so-called acinar cells,
are indeed stem cells. The truly interesting aspect of their results is that these cells
also produce important digestive enzymes.
Lees verder
M. D. Anderson Study Finds Even
Stronger Relationship Between High Body Mass Index, Pancreatic Cancer
In reviewing the weight history of pancreatic cancer patients across their life spans,
researchers at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center have determined that a
high body mass index in early adulthood may play a significant role in an individual
developing the disease at an earlier age. The study, published in the June 24 issue of the
Journal of the American Medical Association, also found that patients who are obese the
year before diagnosis have a poorer outcome than those who are not. While excess weight is
a known risk factor associated with pancreatic cancer, before now, few studies have looked
at patients' body mass index (BMI) throughout their lifetime rather than simply at
adulthood and/or year of disease diagnosis. "This is the first study to explore at
which ages excess body weight predisposes an individual to pancreatic cancer," said
Donghui Li, Ph.D., professor in M. D. Anderson's Department of Gastrointestinal Medical
Oncology and the study's corresponding author. "With our epidemiological research, we
aimed to demonstrate the relationship between BMI and risk of pancreatic cancer across a
patient's life span and determine if there was a time period that specifically predisposes
an individual to the disease, as well as the link between BMI and cancer occurrence and
overall survival of the disease." Pancreatic cancer is the fourth leading cause of
cancer death in men and women in this country. It is a highly lethal disease - according
to the American Cancer Society, more than 42,470 persons will be diagnosed and 35,240 will
likely die from the disease in 2009. The median survival for patients with the disease is
less than 10 months and the five-year survival rate is less than five percent. Obesity and
smoking are the major modifiable risk factors associated with the disease; it's estimated
that 25 percent of the pancreatic cancer cases are associated with the former and 27
percent with the latter, said Li. While the number of adults smoking is on the decline,
the number of adults dangerously overweight is on the rise. In the U.S., obesity in adults
has increased by 60 percent in the last 20 years, and is considered an epidemic by the
Centers for Disease Control. "With our study, we hoped to better understand the
cause-and-effect relationship between this modifiable risk factor that contributes to the
development of pancreatic cancer, in hopes that high-risk individuals can be identified
and preventive measures discovered for this lethal disease," said Li.
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verder
How does ellagic acid exert
anti-cancer effect on pancreatic cancer cells?
A research group from the University of California Los Angeles investigated the
anti-cancer properties of ellagic acid. They found that ellagic acid has strong
pro-apoptotic and anti-proliferative effects on pancreatic cancer cells.
Lees verder
Jefferson Scientists Deliver Toxic
Genes to Effectively Kill Pancreatic Cancer Cells
A research team, led by investigators at the Department of Surgery at Jefferson Medical
College of Thomas Jefferson University and the Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson, has
achieved a substantial “kill” of pancreatic cancer cells by using nanoparticles
to successfully deliver a deadly diphtheria toxin gene. The findings – set to be
published in the October issue of Cancer Biology & Therapy – reflect the first
time this unique strategy has been tested in pancreatic cancer cells, and the success seen
offers promise for future pre-clinical animal studies, and possibly, a new clinical
approach. The researchers found that delivery of a diphtheria toxin gene inhibited a basic
function of pancreatic tumor cells by over 95 percent, resulting in significant cell death
of pancreatic cancer cells six days after a single treatment. They also demonstrated that
the treatment targets only pancreatic cancer cells and leaves normal cells alone, thus
providing a potential ‘therapeutic window.’ Further, they are targeting a
molecule that is found in over three-quarters of pancreatic cancer patients. “For the
pancreatic cancer world, this is very exciting,” says the study’s lead author,
molecular biologist Jonathan Brody, Ph.D., assistant professor, Department of Surgery at
Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University, who works closely with the
Samuel D. Gross Professor and Surgeon, Charles J. Yeo, M.D. “There are no effective
targeted treatments for pancreatic cancer, aside from surgery for which only a minority of
patients qualify. We are in great need of translating the plethora of molecular
information we know about this disease to novel therapeutic ideas.
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Study could help target new
pancreatitis treatments
Pancreatitis is often a fatal condition, in which the pancreas digests itself and
surrounding tissue. Scientists have previously found that alcohol can trigger the
condition by combining with fatty acids in the pancreas, which leads to an excessive
release of stored calcium ions. Once calcium ions enter cell fluid in the pancreas it
activates digestive enzymes and damages the cells. The team, in collaboration with the
RIKEN Brain Science Institute in Japan, have now identified channels within special stores
that allow calcium to enter the fluid inside pancreatic cells. They have also found that
toxic calcium release can be significantly reduced if the gene responsible for the
production of these channels is ‘deleted’ (or knocked-out). Professor Ole
Petersen, from the University’s School of Biomedical Sciences, explains: “The
pancreas releases enzymes into the gut, where they become activated and digest our food.
When these digestive enzymes are activated inside the cells, however, they start to digest
the pancreas itself, causing serious damage and often death. Alcohol is widely recognised
as one of the triggers for this process, but the reasons behind it have been unclear.
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verder
Mayo Clinic finds new pathology
tests double sensitivity to detect bile duct and pancreatic cancers
Pancreatic cancer and bile duct cancer are difficult to diagnose and often fatal because
they are discovered in the advanced stages of the disease. Researchers have developed new
tests that double the ability to detect bile duct and pancreatic cancers, according to a
Mayo Clinic study published in the June issue of Gastroenterology. Pancreatobiliary tumors
such as bile duct cancer (cholangiocarcinoma) and pancreatic cancer often present as
strictures, or a narrowing of the duct that can either be caused by benign inflammation or
cancer. Physicians insert an endoscope down the throat and into the bile duct and pancreas
region to examine possible tumors; however, the narrowness of the bile duct makes it
difficult to distinguish benign and malignant strictures. In this study, 498 patients with
pancreatobiliary duct narrowing underwent an endoscopic procedure, and cell brushings were
taken. Brushings were then analyzed by routine cytology, digital image analysis and
fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) to determine the various tests' effectiveness
and sensitivity in detecting and diagnosing cancer. While traditional cytology analysis
relies on identifying abnormally shaped cells, the FISH test detects malignant cells using
colored probes visible with a fluorescence microscope. Since cancer cells have an abnormal
amount of DNA, by FISH these cells show extra copies of the probes compared to normal
cells. The Mayo research team found that the combination of cytology and FISH raised the
detection rate of bile duct and pancreatic cancer from 20 percent to 43 percent.
"Bile duct and pancreatic cancers are very difficult to diagnose," says Lewis
Roberts, M.B.Ch.B., Ph.D., Mayo Clinic gastroenterologist and the study's senior author.
Lees verder
Study finds association between
hepatitis B and pancreatic cancer
A new study has shown that evidence of past hepatitis B infection was twice as common in
people with pancreatic cancer than in healthy controls. This study is the first to report
an association between past exposure to the hepatitis B virus and pancreatic cancer, but
researchers cautioned that more studies are necessary to evaluate the nature of the link.
"While our findings indicate that past exposure to hepatitis B is associated with the
development of pancreatic cancer, more research is needed to determine whether this
relationship is one of cause and effect," said lead author Manal M. Hassan, MD, PhD,
assistant professor at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center. "If
these findings can be confirmed by other studies, hepatitis B could be another risk factor
for pancreatic cancer that is readily modifiable with treatment, and even preventable with
a vaccine." In this study, Dr. Hassan and her colleagues compared evidence of
hepatitis B and C infection (as determined by blood tests assessing antibodies to these
viruses) between 476 patients with pancreatic cancer and 879 matched healthy individuals.
Evidence of past exposure to hepatitis B was found in 7.6 percent of patients with
pancreatic cancer versus 3.2 percent of controls. The association between hepatitis B
exposure and pancreatic cancer remained statistically significant even after controlling
for other risk factors, such as smoking. People with both diabetes (an established risk
factor for pancreatic cancer) and hepatitis B exposure had a 7-fold increase in pancreatic
cancer risk, compared to controls. No association was observed between hepatitis C
exposure and pancreatic cancer. The authors noted that past studies have reported the
presence of hepatitis B antigens in pancreatic fluids; others have identified impaired
pancreatic function in people with chronic hepatitis B infection. These findings suggest
that the hepatitis B virus may cause inflammation or DNA damage in the pancreas, which
could increase cancer risk. The researchers also indicated that there may be an increased
risk of liver failure after chemotherapy treatment among patients with pancreatic cancer
who have a history of hepatitis B infection. Dr. Hassan noted that if their findings are
confirmed, oncologists may want to consider checking the hepatitis B status of their
patients with pancreatic cancer before beginning chemotherapy.
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Pancreatic cancer linked to
herbicides
A new study links two weed killers with pancreatic cancer in pesticide applicators and
their spouses. The authors--most of whom work for the National Cancer Institute--note that
they are the first to link this particular malignancy with the farm chemicals,
pendimethalin and EPTC.
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Mayo Clinic Researchers Formulate
Treatment Combination Lethal To Pancreatic Cancer Cells
A combination of two targeted therapies packs a powerful punch to kill pancreatic cancer
cells in the laboratory, Mayo Clinic cancer researchers report. With further testing of
these drugs that are from classes of pharmaceuticals already used in patients, the Mayo
research may lead to new treatment opportunities for patients with pancreatic cancer,
which is extremely difficult to treat.
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An herbal extract inhibits the
development of pancreatic cancer
An herb recently found to kill pancreatic cancer cells also appears to inhibit development
of pancreatic cancer as a result of its anti-inflammatory properties, according to
researchers from the Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson. The data were presented at the
AACR 100th Annual Meeting 2009 in Denver. (Abstract 494) Thymoquinone, the major
constituent of the oil extract from a Middle Eastern herbal seed called Nigella sativa,
exhibited anti-inflammatory properties that reduced the release of inflammatory mediators
in pancreatic cancer cells, according to Hwyda Arafat, M.D., Ph.D., associate professor of
Surgery at the Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University and a member of
the Jefferson Pancreatic, Biliary & Related Cancers Center. Nigella sativa seeds and
oil are used in traditional medicine by many Middle Eastern and Asian countries. It helps
treat a broad array of diseases, including some immune and inflammatory disorders, Dr.
Arafat said. Previous studies have also shown it to have anti-cancer effects on prostate
and colon cancers. Based upon their previously published findings that thymoquinone
inhibits histone deacetylases (HDACs), Dr. Arafat and her colleagues compared the
anti-inflammatory properties of thymoquinone and trichostatin A, an HDAC inhibitor that
has previously shown to ameliorate inflammation-associated cancers. The researchers used
pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDA) cells, some of which were pretreated with the
cytokine TNF-alpha to induce inflammation. Thymoquinone almost completely abolished the
expression of several inflammatory cytokines, including TNF-alpha, interleukin-1beta,
interleukin-8, Cox-2 and MCP-1, an effect that was more superior to the effect of
trichostatin A. The herb also inhibited the activation and synthesis of NF-kappaB, a
transcription factor that has been implicated in inflammation-associated cancer.
Activation of NF-kappaB has been observed in pancreatic cancer and may be a factor in
pancreatic cancer's resistance to chemotherapeutic agents. When animal models of
pancreatic cancer were treated with thymoquinone, 67 percent of the tumors were
significantly shrunken, and the levels of proinflammatory cytokines in the tumors were
significantly reduced.
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Stanford study prevents pancreatic
tumor growth in mice by inhibiting key protein
Researchers at Stanford University School of Medicine have identified a protein critical
for the growth of pancreatic cancer. Blocking the expression of the protein slowed or
prevented tumor growth in mice and made cultured cancer cells vulnerable to the conditions
of low oxygen that occur in solid tumors. "This research clearly shows that
inhibiting the protein inhibits the tumor's ability to grow," said cancer biologist
Amato Giaccia, PhD. "Ultimately, we'd like to be able to specifically knock out the
expression of this protein in pancreatic tumors in humans." Pancreatic cancer is a
highly aggressive and deadly disease that accounts for more than 30,000 deaths in the
United States annually, and current therapies are largely ineffective. "Right now, we
have very little to offer these patients," said Giaccia. He is the Jack, Lulu and Sam
Willson Professor and professor of radiation oncology and the senior author of the
research, which will be published Feb. 1 in the journal Cancer Research. Giaccia is also a
member of the Stanford Cancer Center. The researchers studied a protein called connective
tissue growth factor, or CTGF. Also known as CCN2, the protein is involved in the abnormal
growth of connective tissue in response to injury or disease. It was also thought to be
involved in pancreatic tumor progression, although the exact role it played was unknown.
Giaccia and his collaborators found that human pancreatic cancer cells expressing high
levels of CCN2 grew robustly when injected under the skin of mice. In fact, in the
developing tumor these cells soon out-competed others that expressed lower levels of the
protein. Conversely, pancreatic cancer cells in which CCN2 expression was suppressed were
either less likely or unable to form tumors when injected into mice.The researchers
observed similar effects when the cancer cells were injected directly into the animals'
pancreases. Cancer cells expressing high levels of CCN2 formed tumors that grew more
rapidly and metastasized more aggressively than did those expressing lower levels, and the
mice died sooner than others injected with cancer cells expressing less CCN2.
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Eating burned meat increases risk
of pancreatic cancer
People who regularly eat very well-done red meat that is burned or charred may increase
their risk of pancreatic cancer by almost 60 percent, according to a study by a University
of Minnesota cancer researcher. “We found that those who preferred very well-done
steak were almost 60 percent more likely to get pancreatic cancer as those who ate steak
less well-done or did not eat steak,” Anderson said. “Furthermore, when we
looked at amount of consumption with doneness preferences, we found that those with the
highest intake of very well-done meat had a 70 percent higher risk for pancreatic cancer
over those with lowest consumption.”
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Popular diabetes treatment could
trigger pancreatitis, pancreatic cancer
A drug widely used to treat Type 2 diabetes may have unintended effects on the pancreas
that could lead to a form of low-grade pancreatitis in some patients and a greater risk of
pancreatic cancer in long-term users, UCLA researchers have found. In a study published in
the online edition of the journal Diabetes, researchers from the Larry L. Hillblom Islet
Research Center at UCLA found that sitagliptin, sold in pill form as Januvia, caused
abnormalities in the pancreas that are recognized as risk factors for pancreatitis and,
with time, pancreatic cancer in humans. Januvia is marketed by Merck & Co. Inc.
Sitagliptin is a member of a new class of drugs that enhance the actions of the gut
hormone known as glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1), which has been shown to be effective in
lowering blood sugar in people with Type 2 diabetes. The study is available at
http://diabetes.diabetesjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/db09-0058v1. "Type 2
diabetes is a lifelong disease — people often take the same drugs for many years, so
any adverse effect that could over time increase the risk for pancreatic cancer would be a
concern," said Dr. Peter Butler, director of the Hillblom Center and the study's lead
investigator. "A concern here is that the unwanted effects of this drug on the
pancreas would likely not be detected in humans unless the pancreas was removed and
examined." An observed connection between Byetta, a drug used to treat Type 2
diabetes that is related to Januvia in its intended actions, and pancreatitis has already
been reported, prompting a Food and Drug Administration warning. Amylin Corp., which
markets Byetta, has suggested that since there is no known mechanism linking the cases of
pancreatitis with Byetta, the association might be chance. The UCLA study suggests that
there may indeed be a link between drugs that enhance the actions of GLP-1 and
pancreatitis — by increasing the rate of formation of cells that line the pancreatic
ducts.
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Optical techniques show continued
promise in detecting pancreatic cancer
Optical technology developed by a Northwestern University professor of biomedical
engineering has been shown to be effective in detecting the presence of pancreatic cancer
through analysis of neighboring tissue in the duodenum, according to clinical trial
results published in the journal Disease Markers. The promising new technology -- which
researchers hope could help raise the extremely low survival rate of pancreatic cancer
patients by aiding early detection -- uses novel light-scattering techniques to analyze
extremely subtle changes in the cells of the duodenum, part of the small intestine
neighboring the pancreas. The cells are obtained through a minimally invasive endoscopy.
The study shows that cells that appear normal using traditional microscopy techniques do
show signs of abnormality when examined using the Northwestern technique, which provides
cell analysis on the much smaller nanoscale. The technology was developed by Vadim
Backman, professor of biomedical engineering at the McCormick School of Engineering and
Applied Science at Northwestern, and Vladimir Turzhitsky, a graduate student in Backman's
lab. Clinical trials have been conducted in collaboration with Hemant Roy, M.D., director
of gastroenterology research at NorthShore University HealthSystem, and Randall Brand,
M.D., a gastroenterologist at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. In the study of
203 patients, the technique accurately discriminated with 95 percent sensitivity between
healthy patients and those with differing stages of the disease. (Only 5 percent of
patients were found to have been diagnosed with false negatives after testing.) The
specificity of the testing group was 71 percent. These results confirm those of an earlier
study of 51 patients published in August 2007 in the journal Clinical Cancer Research.The
larger number of patients in the more recent study allowed researchers to calculate the
"area under the receiver operator characteristic" (AUROC), which is an analysis
of the accuracy of the test in distinguishing healthy samples from diseased samples. While
the sensitivity and specificity of tests may vary based on the threshold set by
researchers for diagnosis, the AUROC measures the overall efficacy of the diagnostic
technique. The analysis showed an 85 percent AUROC for the Northwestern method.
(Clinically sound tests typically have an AUROC greater than 70 percent.)The study in
Disease Markers also reports promising results in detecting mucinous cyst lesions, which
are a precursor to cancer. If confirmed in further clinical trials, this approach may lead
to a method for early diagnosis.
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UC Davis researchers discover
Achilles' heel in pancreatic cancer
UC Davis Cancer Center researchers have discovered a metabolic deficiency in pancreatic
cancer cells that can be used to slow the progress of the deadliest of all cancers.
Published in the October issue of the International Journal of Cancer, study results
indicate that pancreatic cancer cells cannot produce the amino acid arginine, which plays
an essential role in cell division, immune function and hormone regulation. By depleting
arginine levels in cell cultures and animal models, the team was able to significantly
reduce pancreatic cancer-cell proliferation. "There have been few significant
advances in 15 years of testing available chemotherapy to treat pancreatic cancer,"
said Richard Bold, chief of surgical oncology at UC Davis and senior author of the study.
"The lack of progress is particularly frustrating because most patients are diagnosed
after the disease has spread to other organs, eliminating surgery as an option. We have to
turn back to basic science to come up with new treatments." Bold explained that
average survival time for those diagnosed with pancreatic cancer is just four-and-a-half
months, although chemotherapy can extend that prognosis up to six months.
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alvleesklierkanker
The effective chemoradiotherapy method for pancreatic cancer
In the present study, the retrospective analysis of chemoradiotherapy for locally advanced
pancreatic cancer was performed, utilizing gemcitabine as a radiation sensitizer
administered twice weekly at a dose of 40 mg/m2. The median survival was 15.0 months and
the overall 1-year survival rate was 60%, while the median progression- free survival was
8 months. Patients developing liver metastases had worse prognosis. We might need another
strategy for the chemoradiotherapy for those patients.
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Shining light on pancreatic cancer
Using novel light-scattering techniques, researchers have found the first evidence that
early stage pancreatic cancer causes subtle changes in part of the small intestine. The
easily monitored marker may ultimately allow early detection for a disease notorious for
having few obvious symptoms, the primary reason pancreatic cancer killed more than 33,000
Americans last year.
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Low levels of key protein may
indicate pancreatic cancer risk
A protein that dwindles in response to obesity and a sedentary lifestyle may one day help
doctors predict which people are at increased risk for pancreatic cancer, new research by
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and collaborating scientists indicates.
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Obesity and lack of exercise could
enhance the risk of pancreatic cancer
Obesity and aversion to exercise have become hallmarks of modern society -- and a new
study suggests that a blood protein linked to these lifestyle factors may be an indicator
for an increased risk of developing pancreatic cancer. Researchers from the Dana Farber
Cancer Institute report their findings in the Aug. 15 issue of Cancer Research, a journal
of the American Association for Cancer Research.
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Birth records hold pancreatic
cancer clue
Pregnancies in Jerusalem in the 1960s and 1970s may hold vital clues about how pancreatic
cancer and diabetes are linked. According to research published in the online open access
journal BMC Medicine, women with a history of gestational diabetes had a higher risk of
developing pancreatic cancer later in life.
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Abnormal DNA repair genes may
predict pancreatic cancer risk
Abnormalities in genes that repair mistakes in DNA replication may help identify people
who are at high risk of developing pancreatic cancer, a research team from The University
of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center reports in the Jan. 15 issue of Clinical Cancer
Research. Defects in these critical DNA repair genes may act alone or in combination with
traditional risk factors known to increase an individual's likelihood of being diagnosed
with this very aggressive type of cancer. "We consider DNA repair to be the guardian
of the genome," said lead author Donghui Li, Ph.D., professor in the Department of
Gastrointestinal Medical Oncology at M. D. Anderson. "If something is wrong with the
guard, the genes are more readily attacked by tobacco carcinogens and other damaging
agents." With this in mind, Li and her colleagues set out to identify DNA repair
genes that could act as susceptibility markers to predict pancreatic cancer risk. In a
case-control study of 734 patients with pancreatic cancer and 780 healthy individuals,
they examined nine variants of seven DNA repair genes. The repair genes under
investigation were: LIG3, LIG4, OGG1, ATM, POLB, RAD54L and RECQL. The researchers looked
for direct effects of the gene variants (also called single nucleotide polymorphisms) on
pancreatic cancer risk as well as potential interactions between the gene variants and
known risk factors for the disease, including family history of cancer, diabetes, heavy
smoking, heavy alcohol consumption and being overweight.
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Pancreatic cancer - What you need
to know
Other adjustable risk factors for pancreatic cancer include diet high in red meat,
obesity, diabetes mellitus, chronic pancreatitis, helicobacter pylori infection,
occupational exposure to certain pesticide, dyes and some other chemicals.
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Berries and Onions Slash Pancreatic
Cancer Risk By Up To 59 Percent
A high intake of the flavonols found in certain fruits and vegetables can decrease the
risk of developing pancreatic cancer a quarter in non-smokers, and more than twice that in
smokers.
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VCU Massey Cancer researchers find
gene therapy that kills pancreatic cancer cells
Researchers at the Virginia Commonwealth University Massey Cancer Center and the VCU
Institute of Molecular Medicine have published findings that implicate a new
chemoprevention gene therapy for preventing and treating pancreatic cancer, one of the
most lethal and treatment-resistant forms of cancer.
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IDO2 an active enzyme to target in
pancreatic cancer
An enzyme that is overexpressed in pancreatic cancer cells may hold the key to
successfully treating the disease with targeted immunotherapy, researchers from Thomas
Jefferson University reported at the 2008 Annual Meeting of the Southern Surgical
Association. Previous data show that a protein, indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase (IDO), is
overexpressed in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinomas, according to Jonathan R. Brody, Ph.D.,
an assistant professor in the Department of Surgery at Jefferson Medical College of Thomas
Jefferson University in Philadelphia, and co-director of the Jefferson Center for
Pancreas, Biliary and Related Cancers. The center is led by Charles J. Yeo, M.D., Samuel
D. Gross Professor and chair of the Department of Surgery, who was also involved with the
study.According to Dr. Brody, IDO is an enzyme that represses the immune system, thus
protecting the cancer cells and helping them evade immune detection. The Jefferson
researchers and their collaborators from the Lankenau Institute for Medical Research
(LIMR) in Wynnewood, Pa., previously reported that the IDO inhibitor D-1-methyl-tryptophan
(1-MT), preferentially targets a related protein, IDO2.
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Jefferson scientists find protein
helps pancreatic cancer cells evade immune system and spread
A protein that helps prevent a woman's body from rejecting a fetus may also play an
important role in enabling pancreatic cancer cells to evade detection by the immune
system, allowing them to spread in the body. Researchers found that the metastatic
pancreatic cancer cells in the lymph nodes produce enough of the protein, IDO, to wall-off
the immune system's T-cells and recruit cells that suppress the immune response to the
tumor.
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