Researchers Shed Light on Pancreatic Cancer

Researchers at Harvard Medical School have shed light on the underlying biochemical mechanisms of pancreatic cancer, according to findings published in Cell Reports in late September.

The form of cancer examined in the study stands as one of the most lethal in the country.

“Pancreatic cancer typically has a five-year survival rate of 6 percent,” said David T. Ting, the lead author of the article and an assistant professor at the Medical School. “A lot of the reason for that is its relatively quick spread and the lack of early detection methods.”

The project aimed to gain more insight into circulating tumor cells—CTCs—and their role in metastasis, which is the spread of cancer from a primary tumor to the rest of the body. Though previous research has hinted at finding a way to stop metastasis through gene sequencing and analysis, Ting’s study is the first to examine the cell’s microenvironment.

“For a long time, tumors were thought to plant somewhere and find the right soil to grow,” Ting said. “But it looks like in this case, tumor cells may in fact make their own soil—they don’t care where they land, and they can grow wherever they want, which is potentially why they are so hard to treat.”

The study looked specifically at a gene called SPARC, which is thought to play a role in forming the “soil” where CTCs thrive. The researchers found that suppressing SPARC significantly reduced the growth and migration of CTCs. The findings open the door for new research.

Only further investigation can reveal the applications of CTCs and SPARC in a clinical setting. Specialized treatment methods derived from these discoveries could revolutionize the medical field, especially since chemotherapy currently has a success rate of 30 percent in pancreatic cancer, according to Ting.

“I think this is a very important study,” said Alec C. Kimmelman, associate professor of radiation oncology at the Medical School. “It demonstrates the power of a new CTC technology.”

Ting is now overseeing clinical trials at the Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center that aim to develop a drug that reduces tumor growth by targeting SPARC. He anticipates continuing to pursue research in the field and cited the need for progress.

“Any kind of new therapy is critically important,” Ting said. “To be able to use these findings to eventually develop treatments for all types of cancer—that’s our hope.”