Alterations in four main genes are responsible for how long patients survive with pancreatic cancer, according to a new study in JAMA Oncology. Before now, the presence and patterns between the genes and disease progression was not clearly established. One key difference in this study is the relatively large size: it involved 356 patients who all had pancreatic adenocarcinoma that...
Tag: <span>Pancreatic cancer</span>
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Blocking enzyme in normal cells may impede pancreatic cancer, Penn vet team shows
Cancer of the pancreas is a deadly disease, with a median survival time of less than six months. Only one in 20 people with pancreatic cancer survives five years past the diagnosis. The reason is the cancer’s insidiousness; tumor cells hide deep inside the body, betraying no symptoms until late in the disease, when the...
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Bioinformatics points the way to treating deadly pancreatic cancer
A new study that sifted through an enormous mass of biomolecular data has significantly advanced our understanding of the genetics of pancreatic cancer and opened up promising treatment avenues. More than 40,000 Americans die each year from this devastating disease, making it the third deadliest cancer nationwide. Most patients do not show signs of the illness...
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Zinc Transporter Key to Fighting Pancreatic Cancer And More
EAST LANSING, Mich. – When trace elements rise to toxic levels, bad things happen. Patients suffering from Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease harbor significantly higher levels of zinc and iron in their brains than healthy patients. Those with pancreatic cancer have an unusually high amount of a specific zinc transporter. So, controlling those levels could be...
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New app uses smartphone selfies to screen for pancreatic cancer
Pancreatic cancer has one of the worst prognoses—with a five-year survival rate of 9 percent—in part because there are no telltale symptoms or non-invasive screening tools to catch a tumor before it spreads. Now, University of Washington researchers have developed an app that could allow people to easily screen for pancreatic cancer and other diseases—by...
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A metabolic treatment for pancreatic cancer?
Targeting an enzyme that disposes of excess nitrogen curbs malignant growth BOSTON(August 14, 2017) – Pancreatic cancer is now the third leading cause of cancer mortality. Its incidence is increasing in parallel with the population increase in obesity, and its five-year survival rate still hovers at just 8 to 9 percent. Research led by Nada...
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Study pinpoints gene’s role in pancreatic cancer
Pancreatic cancer is a particularly deadly form of disease, and patients have few options for effective treatment. But a new Yale-led study has identified a gene that is critical to pancreatic cancer cell growth, revealing a fresh target for new therapies. Senior author Narendra Wajapayee, associate professor of pathology, and his research team started with...
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Small green sponge found in the icy waters off Alaska could CURE pancreatic and ovarian cancer
Sponge discovered in the Pacific killed malignant cells in both diseases Latrunculia austini lives in an area that stretches from the Gulf of Alaska Researchers hope to create a synthetic version of the molecule and test it Survival rates for pancreatic cancer are low as signs often don’t show until late Clinical trials would likely be about...
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Long-sought mechanism of metastasis is discovered in pancreatic cancer
Cells, just like people, have memories. They retain molecular markers that at the beginning of their existence helped guide their development. Cells that become cancerous may be making use of these early memories to power their ability to metastasize, or spread to distant sites in the body, newly published research reveals. The research, appearing online...
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Innovative therapy strategy for pancreatic cancer uses engineered exosomes targeting mutated KRAS gene
Axial CT image with i.v. contrast. Macrocystic adenocarcinoma of the pancreatic head. Genetic manipulation of exosomes, virus-sized particles released by all cells, may offer a new therapeutic approach to treating pancreatic cancer, according to a study at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. Findings from the study, led by Valerie LeBleu, Ph.D.,...