from the What-is-best-in-LIF?-To-crush-your-cancer,-see-it-driven-before-you.... dept.
SALK Institute researchers have discovered a potential therapeutic target for pancreatic cancer.
Pancreatic cancer is often far advanced by the time it is discovered since it is often symptomless until after spreading throughout the body.
Additionally, tumor cells are encased in a "protective shield," a microenvironment conferring resistance to many cancer treatment drugs.
Silent, evasive, and very deadly.
pancreatic stellate cells -- resident cells typically dormant in normal tissue -- become activated and secrete proteins to form a shell around the tumor in an attempt to wall off and contain it. The activated stellate cells also secrete a signaling protein called LIF, which conveys stimulatory signals to tumor cells to drive pancreatic cancer development and progression. Results also suggest LIF may be a useful biomarker to help diagnose pancreatic cancer more quickly and efficiently.
Detection is a good step, but they didn't stop there
After pinpointing LIF as the critical communicator, the researchers wanted to better understand the function of LIF during pancreatic cancer progression to evaluate the protein as a potential therapeutic target. By observing the effects on tumor growth of blocking or destroying LIF (both render the protein nonfunctional) in a mouse model of pancreatic cancer, the researchers could examine how LIF affects tumor progression and response to treatment. Both techniques independently showed that without functional LIF signaling, tumor progression slowed down and responses to chemotherapeutic drugs used in treating human cancer (such as gemcitabine) were improved.
Early days as per usual, but it is about time some progress was made on this particular scourge. Earlier detection and improved responsiveness to treatment could move the needle towards survival.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday April 18 2019, @10:43AM (1 child)
In a mouse model, all cancer is cured. Mice no longer have to contend with tumors being deadly... how about human model?
The shit thing about "ethics" is that no one is asking people with terminal cancer or other terminal diseases whether they want to become a model for development of treatment. It's not considered "ethical". So these people die without even having a chance to contribute to human knowledge.
Informed consent and human models would go a long way towards eradicating various diseases.
Some food for thought... some of the most useful drugs like Aspirin would never be discovered as these are absolutely lethal in the "mouse model".
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday April 18 2019, @10:45AM
Ok, meant something else, but no edit anyway, so part bullshit remains.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday April 18 2019, @03:23PM
They are always touting the 'improved survival' of early detection and treating, but what they don't say in these promotions is that 'survival' counts as five years past diagnosis. Big surprise that if testing finds it two years before it becomes symptomatic that you are more likely to last five years.
How much of these 'improved results' are due to actual better outcomes and how much are due to the fact that if you find it earlier you can more easily stretch the dying out to five years?
Diagnosis at 50. Early detection of lump. Die at 56. = 50 years ok. 6 years of hell = Counts as a survivor.
Diagnosis at 55. Advanced multiple metastases. Die at 56. = 55 years ok. 1 year of hell = Counts as a fail.