Scientists have achieved a major breakthrough in DNA research that could have important implications for the treatment of one of the most feared cancers. About it writes The Guardian.
Researchers from the UK and the US have found that pancreatic cancer is able to turn off molecules in one of the body's key genes, which contributes to the rapid progression of the disease.
Pancreatic cancer is the 12th most common cancer worldwide and is diagnosed in more than half a million people each year. This type of cancer has the worst survival rates of all common forms of cancer.
Dr. Maria Hatziapostolou, from the John van Geest Cancer Research Centre at Nottingham Trent University, said, "This work provides new insights and information about cancer behavior, which we hope will help pave the way for potential new treatments in the future."
She added: "Survival rates for patients with pancreatic cancer are the lowest among the 20 most common cancers. Recent years have not brought significant improvements in five-year patient survival, so it is crucial to find new approaches to better understand this disease, its prevalence and aggressiveness."
The study, published in the journal Gastro Hep Advances, was conducted on samples of healthy tissue and pancreatic cancer tissue. Researchers found that pancreatic cancer activates the DNA methylation process, which turns off molecules in the HNF4A gene that normally plays an important role in allowing tumors to grow rapidly.
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