The Deadly Secrets Of Pancreatic Cancer

Date: Oct-27-2012A large-scale study that defines the complexity of underlying mutations responsible for pancreatic cancers in
more than 100 patients was published in Nature.

The analysis represents the first report from Australia's contribution to the International Cancer Genome
Consortium (ICGC), which brings together the world's leading scientists to identify the genetic drivers behind
50 different cancer types.

Pancreatic cancer has the highest mortality rate of all the major cancers and is one of the few for which
survival has not improved substantially over the past 40 years. It is the fourth-leading cause of cancer death.

Professor Sean Grimmond, from the Institute for Molecular Bioscience (IMB) at The University of
Queensland, and Professor Andrew Biankin, from The Kinghorn Cancer Centre at Sydney's Garvan Institute
of Medical Research/ St. Vincent's Hospital led an international team of more than 100 researchers that
sequenced the genomes of 100 pancreatic tumours and compared them to normal tissue to determine the
genetic changes that lead to this cancer.

"We found over 2,000 mutated genes in total, ranging from the KRAS gene, which was mutated in about 90
per cent of samples, to hundreds of gene mutations that were only present in 1 or 2 per cent of tumours,"
Professor Grimmond said.
"So while tumours may look very similar under the microscope, genetic analysis reveals as many variations
in each tumour as there are patients.

"This demonstrates that so-called 'pancreatic cancer' is not one disease, but many, and suggests that people
who seemingly have the same cancer might need to be treated quite differently."

Professor Biankin said such individual genetic diagnoses and treatments represent the future of healthcare.
"In this study, we found a set of genes, the axon guidance pathway, that is frequently damaged in pancreatic
cancer patients and is associated with a potentially poorer outcome for those patients. It is a new marker of
pancreatic cancer that can be used to direct prognoses and treatments.

"'Personalised medicine', where the molecular profile of a patient is matched to the best treatment, is the
way the world is moving for many diseases, not just cancer."

"The challenge now will be in moving from population healthcare and a 'one drug fits all' model to
personalised healthcare. First we must take the time to develop the necessary genetic knowledge and
implement health systems to translate that knowledge effectively."

Professors Biankin and Grimmond acknowledged the vital assistance of the Australian Pancreatic Cancer
Genome Initiative, a network of more than 20 hospitals and research institutions Australia-wide, with over
200 members - surgeons, pathologists, nurses and researchers - that all contributed to the project.

They also collaborated with colleagues from the Baylor College of Medicine and The Methodist Hospital
Research Institute in Texas, the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research, Johns Hopkins University in
Maryland, the University of California San Francisco, the University of Verona, the Cambridge Research
Institute and the Sanger Centre in the UK.

The ICGC project is being funded through $27.5 million from the National Health and Medical Research
Council of Australia (NH&MRC), its largest-ever single grant.
NHMRC Chief Executive Officer, Professor Warwick Anderson said that "NHMRC is proud to have been the
major funding contributor to this research, and I am delighted that breakthroughs have been made in
understanding the genetic basis of this disease.

"This positive outcome is evidence of NHMRC supporting the very best research and researchers, and the
importance of our involvement in strong national and international collaborations.

"The ultimate goal of our funding is healthier citizens, both in Australia and overseas, and this research will
certainly lead to a better understanding of this issue."

Courtesy: Medical News Today Note: Any medical information available in this news section is not intended as a substitute for informed medical advice and you should not take any action before consulting with a health care professional.