Key to Slowing Pancreatic Cancer
Pancreatic cancer is a particularly aggressive, rapidly
spreading disease for which there is no effective treatment.
Israeli researchers identify a protein that may put the brakes on a particularly aggressive form of cancer.
Israel 21c – Israeli researchers have discovered that a protein known to retard the aging process also seems to prevent the growth of pancreatic cancer. If it could be produced commercially without significant side effects, this substance could provide a needed weapon against this and other fast-growing cancers.
Researchers from the Cancer Research Center at Sheba Medical Center in Tel Hashomer studied the behavior of the protein klotho, a natural hormone emitted by the brain and kidneys. It is named after one of the Three Fates in Greek mythology, who spun thread to keep people alive.
A laboratory study done at Sheba in 2008 found that klotho prevented breast cancer cells from multiplying. Later, researchers discovered that mutations of this protein, called BRCA1 and BRCA2, greatly increase the risk of women developing breast cancer:
The Israeli study follows recent findings in other countries indicating that klotho may prevent the spread of liver and cervical cancer.
In the current experiments using mice with pancreatic cancer, scientists wanted to determine how klotho could work against this particularly aggressive, rapidly spreading disease for which there is no effective treatment.
About 610 Israelis are diagnosed with pancreatic cancer every year, and it causes eight out of every 100,000 deaths among Israeli men and six out of every 100,000 deaths among Israeli women. In the United States, an estimated 37,660 people will die of pancreatic cancer this year. More
