Researchers from the University of California School of Medicine in San Diego (USA) have identified an enzyme that promotes tumor growth in ductal adenocarcinoma of the pancreas, the most common type of pancreatic cancer.
MICAL2 enzyme accelerates tumor growth in pancreatic cancer. PHOTO Shutterstock
The enzyme, called MICAL2, plays a key role in the growth and spread of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinomas (PDACs), according to research published in the journal Cancer Research. The findings are all the more important as the enzyme could become a target for new treatments aimed at improving survival rates for patients suffering from this aggressive cancer, according to scitechdaily.com.
MICAL2 is usually involved in the regulation of cell migration and structure. However, the study showed that PDAC tumor cells produce significantly higher levels of this enzyme compared to healthy cells.
This is the first time MICAL2 has been directly linked to pancreatic cancer, providing new insights into its potential role in disease progression, the source said.
“Pancreatic cancer has the highest mortality rate of all common cancers, and therefore current treatments are woefully inadequate. We believe it will be possible to target MICAL2 with drugs because it is an enzyme in a class of proteins against which inhibitory drugs have been successfully made to treat other human diseases. We are now working to identify drug candidates to begin the journey to blocking MICAL2 function in pancreatic cancer,” explained the study’s lead author, Andrew Lowy, professor and division chief of surgical oncology at UC San Diego School of Medicine and associate clinical director of surgery at UC San Diego Moores Cancer Center.
