Cancer Research UK Scientists Gain New Insights Into Pancreatic Cancer

Scientists at Cancer Research UK have announced that they have gained greater insight into gemcitabine, which is a commonly used pancreatic cancer drug. The researchers were able to find out more about how the drug is broken down in pancreatic cancer cells. The research performed at Cancer Research UK was published in the British Journal of Cancer, or BJC, on Friday. The researchers specifically looked at how the gemcitabine drug interacts with the Kennedy Pathway, which is a pathway that cells use in order to make special fats. The researchers found that the drug is broken down in tumor cells by the Kennedy Pathway’s enzymes. The findings also suggested that using linoleic acid in conjunction with gemcitabine treatment would increase the amount of gemcitabine in tumor cells. This increase of gemcitabine in tumor cells could conceivably make the drug more effective.

Professor Duncan Jodrell, the Cancer Research UK Cambridge Institute’s group leader, says that this new knowledge could unlock future combination treatments for patients suffering from pancreatic cancer. According to Jodrell, “Gemcitabine is one of the drugs that we use commonly to treat pancreatic cancer, but the number of patients who benefit from it is still relatively small. Improving our understanding of how gemcitabine interacts with cellular metabolism may allow us to develop combination treatments that improve outcomes for patients with pancreatic cancer.”

Nell Barrie, the senior science communications officer at Cancer Research UK, echoed the sentiments and said the research could eventually help to save more lives from the deadly disease. “We’re making progress but it needs to be much faster, which is why Cancer Research UK is prioritizing research into pancreatic cancer to save more lives from the disease,” he said.

 Each year, about 8,800 people are diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in the UK alone. The disease is extremely deadly, as only about 3 percent of people diagnosed survive more than five years.

Cancer Research UK has been hard at work examining various aspects of pancreatic cancer, announcing within the last few weeks that they have made some progress in identifying ways to slow the cancer’s progress through the body. According to the organization’s recent research, switching off the “fascin” protein, which is a key player in pancreatic cells, can slow the disease’s progression.  

Study leader, Dr. Laura Machesky says, “It’s early, but we think that developing drugs to block fascin could potentially help halt cancer spread in patients with pancreatic cancer, and other cancers with higher levels of this protein.”