Cell-surface protein controls aggressiveness of cancer
Issue date: 3/13/08
A team of researchers led by Stephen Baylin, a professor of oncology at the Hopkins School of Medicine, has recently uncovered an important factor in the severity of pancreatic cancer.
His group has characterized the molecular distinctions between localized and aggressive pancreatic cancer. Insights found stemming from this research will provide new avenues for pancreatic cancer treatments.
Pancreatic cancer is one of the deadliest forms of cancer. Roughly 40,000 people will be newly diagnosed this year and 35,000 will die from it, making it the fourth-leading cause of cancer deaths. Although it may not be the most prevalent of cancer, it is deadly: Only 5 percent of patients are alive 5 years after diagnosis.
One reason pancreatic cancer is so deadly is because most cases are not diagnosed until the cancer is fully progressed. If a cancer reaches this stage, treatment options are limited.
Most of the research into pancreatic cancer has focused on the primary tumors in patients as opposed to the more advanced disease, which actually kills the patients.
Also, even though 80 percent of pancreatic cancers are unresectable, meaning they cannot be removed by surgery, research has generally focused on those that can be removed.
This bias has led to poor understanding of the molecular biology of the most clinically relevant pancreatic cancers. This is where Baylin and his team stepped in to determine the role of the E-Cadherin protein and its implications in pancreatic cancers.
E-Cadherin is a transmembrane protein that is involved in cell-to-cell adhesion or linkages. E-Cadherin is found in epithelial tissue including the intestines and pancreas.
It has been known that loss of E-Cadherin expression correlates with progression of cancers to a more advanced stage.
It is thought that loss of this protein allows the cells to be more mobile, thus allowing them to escape the primary tumors and metastasize or spread to other parts of the body. It is important to understand this process of E-Cadherin loss because 90 percent of cancer deaths are the result of metastases.
His group has characterized the molecular distinctions between localized and aggressive pancreatic cancer. Insights found stemming from this research will provide new avenues for pancreatic cancer treatments.
Pancreatic cancer is one of the deadliest forms of cancer. Roughly 40,000 people will be newly diagnosed this year and 35,000 will die from it, making it the fourth-leading cause of cancer deaths. Although it may not be the most prevalent of cancer, it is deadly: Only 5 percent of patients are alive 5 years after diagnosis.
One reason pancreatic cancer is so deadly is because most cases are not diagnosed until the cancer is fully progressed. If a cancer reaches this stage, treatment options are limited.
Most of the research into pancreatic cancer has focused on the primary tumors in patients as opposed to the more advanced disease, which actually kills the patients.
Also, even though 80 percent of pancreatic cancers are unresectable, meaning they cannot be removed by surgery, research has generally focused on those that can be removed.
This bias has led to poor understanding of the molecular biology of the most clinically relevant pancreatic cancers. This is where Baylin and his team stepped in to determine the role of the E-Cadherin protein and its implications in pancreatic cancers.
E-Cadherin is a transmembrane protein that is involved in cell-to-cell adhesion or linkages. E-Cadherin is found in epithelial tissue including the intestines and pancreas.
It has been known that loss of E-Cadherin expression correlates with progression of cancers to a more advanced stage.
It is thought that loss of this protein allows the cells to be more mobile, thus allowing them to escape the primary tumors and metastasize or spread to other parts of the body. It is important to understand this process of E-Cadherin loss because 90 percent of cancer deaths are the result of metastases.
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