Achim Krüger and his colleagues have found a molecular mechanism which makes the liver susceptible to metastases of pancreatic cancer at a very early point. (image: Michael Stobrawe / TUM)
Research news - Pancreatic cancer is an exceptionally aggressive type of cancer. Frequently, metastases already start to grow in other organs, particularly often in the liver, before the original tumor was even detected. Scientists from the Technical University of Munich (TUM) have now discovered a molecular mechanism, which is responsible for the prominent susceptibility of the liver to metastases at such an early stage. While some forms of cancer are increasingly treatable, the prognosis for patients with pancreatic tumors remains poor. One of the reasons is that, compared with other tumors, they spread to other organs as metastases exceptionally early and efficiently. In well over half of the cases, these metastases grow in the liver. A team of scientists headed by biologist Professor Achim Krüger from the Institute of Molecular Immunology and Experimental Oncology at TUM's Klinikum rechts der Isar, investigated the reasons for this and published the results in the journal 'Gastroenterology'.
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