Scientists at the Vrije Universiteit Bruxelles (VUB) have taken a major step forward in pancreatic cancer research. By mapping the healthy pancreas in detail down to the cellular level, they discovered that certain rare cells within the healthy organ already had strong similarities to the most aggressive tumor cells. This fundamental discovery, published in the leading journal Gut, opens new doors to early detection and targeted treatment of the deadly disease.
Pancreatic cancer is known to be one of the most aggressive and difficult to treat cancers. Part of the reason is that the biological background of different types of tumors was largely unknown. Traditionally, the tissue of the pancreatic drainage duct (the source of most tumors) was thought to be a simple structure with only one basic cell type. A team led by Professor Ilse Luhmann from VUB’s Translational Oncology Research Center has decisively changed this situation.
Postdoctoral researcher Janraas van den Bossche and his colleagues have created an accurate map of the healthy human pancreas. Using new advanced technology, researchers have discovered that large drainage tubes can have a layered structure. Among these, they discovered a rare group of cells with specific properties that were previously thought to be only attributed to aggressive cancer cells.
Understanding cancer begins with learning about healthy organs. Now that we know that these cells already exist naturally, we can begin to investigate whether they play a role in tumor development. This may provide an opportunity for early detection. ”
Dr. Ilse Luhmann, Free University of Brussels
When scientists compared the new data with tissue from pancreatic cancer patients, they found major differences. In the most common variant (PDAC), the cell’s original organization was found to be completely destroyed. This is in contrast to the rarer but highly aggressive adenosquamous carcinoma (ASCP). Instead, we found that ASCP tumors almost completely preserve certain cell types and their precise spatial architecture from the healthy pancreas.
This result has major implications for future research and treatment. Researchers advocate a different approach, as patients with the rarer ASCP variant currently receive exactly the same treatment as patients with the classic variant. Exposed cellular structures provide a new perspective from which to begin targeting cells more specifically.
sauce:
Free University of Bruxelles
