Scientists may have found key gene to stop one of deadliest cancers

Groundbreaking research suggests that a crucial gene , known as HNF4A, could provide the key to unlocking a cure for one of the world's deadliest cancers , pancreatic cancer .

This discovery has shone a glimmer of hope on the daunting task of finding effective treatments for a disease which is unfortunately named for its dismal survival rates and claims almost 9,000 British lives each year.

Dr Maria Hatziapostolou of Nottingham Trent University's John van Geest Cancer Research Centre underscored the severity of the issue: "Pancreatic cancer has the lowest survival of all the 20 common cancers."

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She called for immediate progress, adding, "The survival of patients beyond five years has improved very little for some time and so it's extremely important that we find new ways to better understand this disease, how it spreads and why it is so aggressive. This work, which has provided new understanding and knowledge of how the cancer behaves, will hopefully help pave the way for potential new treatments in the future."

With over 10,400 new pancreatic cancer cases diagnosed in the UK each year and survival rates as low as a mere 10% for those surpassing five years, the urgency is palpable. The disease often goes undetected until it's too late, drastically reducing treatment options and resulting in over half of patients dying within three months of diagnosis.

The condition has taken the lives of famous individuals including Alan Rickman, Sir John Hurt, Steve Jobs, and Patrick Swayze. According to a study reported by Nottinghamshire Live and published in the Gastro Hep Advances journal, researchers analysed tissue samples from pancreatic cancer alongside healthy ones, reports the Express .

The study uncovered that pancreatic cancers trigger a process called DNA methylation, which turns off beneficial HNF4A molecules, allowing tumours to proliferate rapidly. Dr Hatziapostolou commented: "Loss of HNF4A drives pancreatic cancer development and aggressiveness and we now know correlates with poor patient survival."

Dr Chris Macdonald, Head of Research at Pancreatic Cancer UK, which supported the research financially, remarked: "We desperately need kinder and more effective treatment options for pancreatic cancer. The majority of pancreatic cancers are diagnosed at a late stage, with 80% not being detected until after the disease has spread and is no longer operable."

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"These circumstances mirror its abysmal survival rate over half of people with the disease succumb within three months of diagnosis. Advancing our core understanding of what propels the rapid growth and spread of pancreatic cancer is critical if we want to realise much-needed breakthroughs."

He added: "This project gives us new information on how pancreatic cancer is able to suppress certain molecules to help it spread aggressively around the body which, in turn, could lead to the development of more effective treatment options in the future."

Scientists from the University of Nottingham, Stanford University and the University of California and Cedars-Sinai Medical Centre, Los Angeles , also contributed to the project.

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