Pancreatic Cancer

Researchers at the University of Michigan Rogel Cancer have received a $2 million grant from the National Cancer Institute to understand the role myeloid cells play in how pancreatic cancer develops and progresses.

Within a pancreatic cancer tumor, different cell types interact to facilitate the tumor’s growth. Researchers see disrupting this metabolic crosstalk as a compelling target for treatment.

A study published in Nature Communications, led by Imad Shureiqi, M.D., shows that, pre-cancerous pancreatic lesions in mice, similar to those found in humans, contain higher levels of the transcriptional receptor peroxisome proliferator activated receptor-delta (PPARδ).

Hyaluronic acid, or HA, is a known presence in pancreatic tumors, but a new study from researchers at Rogel Cancer Center shows that hyaluronic acid also acts as food to the cancer cells. These findings, recently published in eLife, provide insight into how pancreatic cancer cells grow and indicate new possibilities to treat them.

A new study led by the University of Michigan Rogel Cancer Center demonstrates how inhibiting a key enzyme known as GOT1 can flip a switch in the cancer cells — causing them to shift from using nutrients to fuel growth toward conserving them to maintain energy levels.

ApoE, an apolipoprotein known to play roles in cardiovascular disease and Alzheimer’s, is elevated in the blood of people with pancreatic adenocarcinoma, according to this new research.

A University of Michigan-led study is shedding new light on the way pancreatic cancer cells turn nearby connective tissue cells into co-conspirators in their deadly growth. The findings also suggest a new potential strategy against pancreatic cancer by identifying critical components of metabolic cross talk between cells that might be attacked with new therapies, starving the cancer cells of vital nutrients.