Chinese scientists have discovered a new treatment target for pancreatic cancer

The team of Wang Yuexiang of Shanghai Long March Hospital Joint Translational Medical Center, affiliated with the Shanghai Institute of Nutrition and Health of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, revealed that genomic changes in ERBB2 are one of the key molecular mechanisms for the malignant progression of pancreatic cancer, and provided the experimental basis for targeting ERBB2 inhibitors for the treatment of pancreatic cancer patients. The findings were published online online in Carcinogenesis, an international academic journal on oncology.
is known that about 90% of pancreatic cancer is pancreatic catheter adenocarcinoma (PDAC). Pancreatic catheter adenocarcinoma is recognized by the medical community as the "king of cancer", its discovery is difficult, rapid progress, high fatality rate, the patient early no obvious symptoms, once found that most have lost surgical indications, clinically lack of effective treatment means, more lack of effective targeted treatment drugs.
KRAS is an important driving gene for pancreatic catheter cancer, but the vast majority of pancreatic catheter adenocarcinoma precancerus lesions, such as pancreatic epithelitis, already contain KRAS activation mutations, suggesting that progression from precancer lesions to pancreatic catheter cancer requires molecular mechanisms other than KRAS.
this, the researchers systematically analyzed genome sequencing data for pancreatic catheterization adenocarcinoma and found that about 8.5% of pancreatic catheter adenocarcinomas contained genomic changes of ERBB2, including genetic mutations and gene amplification. The frequency of ERBB2 gene changes is at the top of 100 tyrosine kinase genes. "Interestingly, PDAC containing ERBB2 gene changes also contains KRAS mutations, and ERBB2 gene changes are associated with poor prognosis in patients with pancreatic catheter adenocarcinoma," Li Zhang, a doctoral student and lead author of the paper, told China Science.
it is known that the team used a number of in vitro, in vivo pancreatic catheter adenocarcinoma models to prove that the ERBB2 gene changes in pancreatic catheter adenocarcinoma are carcinogenic, accelerate the progression of pancreatic catheter adenocarcinoma, reduce the dependence of cancer cells on KRAS.
Researcher Wang Yuexiang said that the use of human-induced tumor xeno-transplant mouse model, the use of ERBB2 inhibitors and KRAS inhibitors can significantly inhibit the growth of human-induced pancreatic catheter adenocarcinoma, targeted ERBB2 drugs for the treatment of pancreatic cancer patients provided an experimental basis. (Source: Science Network Huang Xin Wang Wenxuan)
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