Copycat nutrient leaves pancreatic tumors starving

2023-10-09

A study led by scientists at Sanford Burnham Prebys suggests an entirely new approach to treat pancreatic cancer. The research shows that feeding tumors a copycat of an important nutrient starves them of the fuel they need to survive and grow. The method, described in the journal Nature Cancer, has been used in early clinical trials for lung cancer.

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Scientists shrink pancreatic tumors by starving their cellular “neighbors”

2021-03-17

Scientists at Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute demonstrated for the first time that blocking “cell drinking,” or macropinocytosis, in the thick tissue surrounding a pancreatic tumor slowed tumor growth—providing more evidence that macropinocytosis is a driver of pancreatic cancer growth and is an important therapeutic target. The study was published in Cancer Discovery, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

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Preventing pancreatic cancer metastasis by keeping cells “sheltered in place”

2020-06-08

Scientists at Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute have shown that pancreatic cancer metastasis—when tumor cells gain the deadly ability to migrate to new parts of the body—can be suppressed by inhibiting a protein called Slug that regulates cell movement. The study, published in the Journal of Experimental Medicine, also revealed two druggable targets that interact with Slug and hold promise as treatments that may stop the spread of pancreatic cancer.

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Pancreatic cancer blocked by disrupting cellular pH balance

2020-04-07

Scientists at Sanford Burnham Prebys have found a new way to kill pancreatic cancer cells by disrupting their pH equilibrium. The study, published in Cancer Discovery, reports how depleting an ion transport protein lowers the pH to a point that compromises pancreatic cancer cell growth.

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Nutritional Cues Regulate Pancreatic Tumor’s “Cell Drinking”

2019-06-27

Desperate for nutrients, rapidly growing pancreatic tumors resort to scavenging “fuel” through an alternative supply route, called macropinocytosis. Blocking this process, often described as “cellular drinking,” could lead to tumor-starving drugs. Now, scientists from Sanford Burnham Prebys have identified a signaling pathway that regulates macropinocytosis, the nutritional cue that triggers the process and key metabolic differences between tumors—revealing new directions for drug development and patient treatment. The findings were published in Developmental Cell.

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DoD Gives SBP Scientist Career Development Award for Pancreatic Cancer Research

2017-08-28

Assistant professor aims to identify drugs that deplete tumors of nutrition.

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Breakthrough In The Understanding Of How Pancreatic Cancer Cells Ingest Nutrients Points To New Drug Target

2013-05-13

In a landmark cancer study published online in Nature, researchers at NYU School of Medicine have unraveled a longstanding mystery about how pancreatic tumor cells feed themselves, opening up new therapeutic possibilities for a notoriously lethal disease with few treatment options. Pancreatic cancer kills nearly 38,000 Americans annually, making it a leading cause of cancer death. The life expectancy for most people diagnosed with it is less than a year.

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NYU School of Medicine Researcher Receives Pancreatic Cancer Action Network- American Association for Cancer Research Fellowship

2011-04-04

NYU School of Medicine’s Cosimo Commisso, PhD, a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Biochemistry, is the 2011 recipient of The Pancreatic Cancer Action Network-American Association for Cancer Research Fellowship, a one-year grant designed to support pancreatic cancer research.

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Pancreatic Cancer Action Network and AACR Award Research Grants Totaling Nearly $3 Million

2011-03-25

The Pancreatic Cancer Action Network and the American Association for Cancer Research awarded 10 grants to outstanding scientists throughout the country, supporting their innovative research in the field of pancreatic cancer. This year’s total funding level of nearly $3 million represents the largest annual disbursement since the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network introduced the program in 2003. The recipients will be honored at a recognition event scheduled during the AACR 102nd Annual Meeting 2011, held April 2-6, at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando.