New Cause of Pancreatic Cancer Discovered

Researchers at the University of Michigan have found that two enzymes—G6PD and ME1—may play a key role in the development of pancreatic cancer. Reduced activity of these enzymes disrupts the production of NADPH, a molecule that normally protects cells from oxidative damage. The study was published in the journal Nature Metabolism.

Pancreatic cancer often develops from a condition known as acinar-to-ductal metaplasia, in which cells change their structure in response to inflammation or injury. Normally, this process is reversible, but in the presence of oncogenic mutations, it can become the starting point for malignant transformation.

In experiments on mice, scientists showed that when the activity of G6PD and ME1 decreases, oxidative stress increases in cells, the number of precancerous lesions rises, and the loss of malic enzyme 1 is directly linked to subsequent tumor formation. Similar molecular changes were also identified in human pancreatic tissue.

Notably, antioxidants such as glutathione and N-acetylcysteine demonstrated the ability to slow the development of precancerous changes. The authors believe that targeting metabolic processes at an early stage could form the basis for fundamentally new approaches to preventing one of the most aggressive types of cancer.