Important discovery opens up hope for curing pancreatic cancer

Scientists have made a major discovery about DNA that could provide more information about one of the most deadly cancers.

The Guardian reported on July 15 that a team of researchers from the UK and the US discovered that pancreatic cancer can disable molecules in an important gene in the body , helping the disease develop rapidly.

Pancreatic cancer is the 12th most common cancer worldwide, with more than half a million people diagnosed each year, the paper said. It has the lowest survival rate of any common cancer.

New research provides insight into how pancreatic cancer develops in the body. (Photo: GOOD NEWS NETWORK SCREENSHOT).

The fatal nature of this disease has been a headache for science for many years. However, in a recent study published in the journal Gastro Hep Advances, scientists analyzed healthy tissue samples and pancreatic cancer tissue samples. They found that pancreatic cancer activates a process called DNA methylation , which turns off molecules in the beneficial gene HNF4A, causing tumors to grow rapidly.

The HNF4A gene plays an important role in human health because it helps many organs function normally. Meanwhile, new research suggests that pancreatic cancer may secretly disable this eene.

Dr Chris Macdonald, head of research at Pancreatic Cancer UK, which funded the study, said the majority of pancreatic cancer cases are diagnosed at a late stage , with 80% of cases not detected until the disease has spread and is no longer amenable to surgery.

This fact also explains the low survival rate of people with the disease, with more than half of those with the disease dying within three months of being diagnosed, Dr Macdonald said.

"This study gives us new information about how pancreatic cancer can inhibit certain molecules to help it spread aggressively throughout the body, which can be used to develop more effective treatments in the future ," he said.