Centrala begrepp
Manipulating the stiffness and biochemical properties of the tumor microenvironment can reverse chemoresistance in pancreatic cancer.
Sammanfattning
The article discusses a new research study that explores the role of the tumor microenvironment in influencing the progression and drug response of pancreatic cancer. The key insights are:
- Pancreatic cancer is characterized by a dense fibrous tissue called the extracellular matrix that can collapse blood vessels and prevent drugs from reaching the tumor.
- The researchers engineered synthetic 3D pancreas tissue with varying degrees of stiffness and biochemical properties, and found that cancer cells growing in a stiffer matrix were more resistant to chemotherapy.
- This resistance was linked to the high levels of the tissue-strengthening protein hyaluronic acid in the stiff matrix, which signaled the cancer cells to develop pumps that expelled the drugs.
- When the cancer cells were moved to a softer matrix or a stiff matrix with the hyaluronic acid receptor blocked, the chemotherapy drugs became effective again.
- These findings suggest that disrupting the stiffness signaling through the CD44 receptor could make pancreatic cancer treatable again with standard chemotherapy.
- The study highlights the importance of the tumor microenvironment in dictating cancer progression and drug response, and demonstrates the potential of "mechanotherapeutics" - targeting the surrounding tissue - as a novel approach to fighting chemoresistance.
Statistik
Each year, about 66,000 people are diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, and 52,000 die from it.
Pancreatic cancer has a 5-year survival rate of around 7%, which has not improved much since 1996.
Citat
"Our study shows the importance of the tumor microenvironment and its properties in dictating how cancer progresses and responds to drug treatment."
"This suggests that if we can disrupt the stiffness signaling that's happening through the CD44 receptor, we could make patients' pancreatic cancer treatable again by normal chemotherapy."