Researchers identify stem cells in pancreatic cancer

University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center researchers have discovered the small number of cells in pancreatic cancer that are capable of fueling the tumor’s growth. The finding is the first identification of cancer stem cells in pancreatic tumors. Cancer stem cells are the small number of cancer cells that replicate to drive tumor growth. Researchers believe current cancer treatments sometimes fail because they are not attacking the cancer stem cells. By identifying the stem cells, researchers can then develop drugs to target and kill these cells. This is particularly crucial for pancreatic cancer, which has the worst survival rate of any major cancer type. Nearly everyone who develops pancreatic cancer dies from the disease. "Over the last one to two decades we have not had a significant improvement in the long-term survival rates with pancreatic cancer. I believe that if we can target cancer stem cells within pancreatic cancer we may have an avenue to really make a breakthrough in therapy for this awful disease," says lead study author Diane Simeone, M.D., director of the Gastrointestinal Oncology Program at the U-M Comprehensive Cancer Center. Researchers looked at cell markers on the surface of tumor cells and identified a small number of cells that quickly produced new tumors. The researchers suggest these cells are the pancreatic cancer stem cells. Results of the study appear in the Feb. 1 issue of Cancer Research. Tissue samples were taken from 10 patients with pancreatic cancer. The samples were divided and implanted into mice to grow new tumors, allowing a larger sample to be studied. The researchers sorted the tumor cells based on whether they expressed certain antibody markers on the cell surface, specifically CD44, CD24 and epithelial-specific antigen, or ESA. These three markers were chosen as a starting point based on previous work in breast cancer stem cells. The researchers found that only 0.2 percent to 0.8 percent of the pancreatic cells expressed all three markers. Researchers then took the sorted cells and injected them into mice to see if new tumors formed. When 100 cells that expressed CD44, CD24 and ESA were injected, six of the 12 mice developed tumors. No tumors developed from the cells... Whole article: "http://www.physorg.com":[ http://www.physorg.com/news89524616.html]

---

Related articles

Scientists find new stemcell source - Scientists in Scotland say they've discovered a way to harvest stem cells from non-viable embryos The discovery by Roslin Cells, a spin-off of the Roslin Institute, will increase the supply of vital stem cells available for medical research and could overcome ethical objections to stem cell research, the Glasgow Herald said Wednesday The discovery was announced this week in Australia at the annual meeting of the International Society for Stem Cell Research sciencedaily (22.6.2007)

Reversing cancer cells to normal cells - A Northwestern University scientist describes new research that used an innovative experimental approach to provide unique insights into how scientists can change human metastatic melanoma cells back to normal-like skin cells -- by exposing the tumor cells to the embryonic microenvironment of human embryonic stem cells, the zebra fish and the chick embryo Now, in the American Association of Anatomists’ plenary lecture and symposium, at Experimental Biology 2007 in Washington, DC, Dr Whole article PhysOrg (30.4.2007)

Cheap molecule may attack tumors - A cheaply-produced molecule may be the key to treating a variety of cancers, claim Canadian researchers Dicholoroacetate (DCA) has been suggested for years as a possible treatment for certain rare metabolic disorders in children The University of Alberta team, writing in the journal Cancer Cell, now say it could encourage cancer cells to die Experts say much more research will be needed before an effective cancer treatment can emerge Whole article onnews (23.4.2007)

Genes Associated With Adverse Reactions To Cancer Radiotherapy Treatment Identified - Medical scientists at the University of Leicester have announced a potentially unique advance in breast cancer research by identifying two genes associated with adverse reaction to cancer treatment The research could mean people who might react badly to radiotherapy could be warned in advance or alternative treatments be sought The team who carried out the study included Drs Paul Symonds, Mark Plumb, Irene Peat and George Giotopoulos of the Department of Cancer Studies and Molecular Medicine and the Department of Genetics at the University of Leicester Whole article on ScienceDaily (21.4.2007)

Sex Of Stem Cells Found Important For Regenerative Medicine - Female stem cells derived from muscle have a greater ability to regenerate skeletal muscle tissue than male cells, according to a study at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center The study, published in the April 9 issue of the Journal of Cell Biology, is the first to report a difference in regenerative capabilities of muscle stem cells based on sex This finding could have a major impact on the successful development of stem cells as viable therapies for a variety of diseases and conditions, according to the study’s senior author, Johnny Huard, Ph “Regardless of the sex of the host, the implantation of female stem cells led to significantly better skeletal muscle regeneration,” said Huard, also the deputy director of the McGowan Institute of Regenerative Medicine Huard’s team, and the study’s first author, Bridget Deasy, Ph DMD is a genetic disease estimated to affect one in every 3,500 boys Wholw article:www (11.4.2007)