Genetic secrets of pancreatic cancer uncovered

THE genetic secrets of pancreatic cancer have been uncovered, revealing it is actually four separate diseases that may be treated by existing and new drugs.

Close-up of laboratory technician putting some substance into Petri dish Picture: iStock

THE genetic secrets of pancreatic cancer have been uncovered, revealing it is actually four separate diseases that may be treated by existing and new drugs.

The breakthrough by an Australian-led international team provides hope for a range of new treatments for the fifth deadliest cancer in Australia, as well as a blueprint for unmasking other cancers.

A seven-year study analysing the genomes of 456 pancreatic tumours revealed there are actually four subtypes of the cancer with different genetic triggers, survival rates, and mechanisms for treatment.

Study leader Prof Sean Grimmond, of the University of Melbourne’s Centre for Cancer Research, said some of the subtypes are related to colon cancer or leukaemia, while others resemble bladder and lung cancers.

With the new information doctors hope to use drugs already in development for the similar cancers to target the pancreatic diseases, which usually claim patients within a few months of diagnosis and is predicted to become the second most common cancer within a decade.

“What we see at a molecular level is that there are four diseases at play, and one of those in particular has all the hallmarks that suggest there may be some therapeutic options we have never considered,” he said.

The results published on Thursday in leading journal Nature, follow a world-first genomic analysis where several techniques were combined to not only reveal the cancer’s genetic code, but also the variations in its structure and activity.

The team — which also included Prof Andrew Biankin from the Garvan Institute and Dr Nicola Waddell of the University of Queensland — discovered 10 genetic pathways were responsible for turning normal pancreatic tissue into cancerous tumours.