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Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is a cancer with rising incidence and very poor outcomes, and there is a lack of effective treatments.
Pancreatic cancers are made up of different populations of cells, including pancreatic cancer stem cells. These can renew themselves, and spread tumours around the body. Researchers at Queen Mary’s University, London, found that metformin, a commonly used diabetes drug, can kill cancer stem cells by stopping oxidative metabolism in mitochondria, effectively cutting off their energy supply. The cells can develop resistance, but this can be prevented or reversed with inhibitors of MYC — a transcription factor involved in metabolism.
This approach could lead to therapies that specifically kill pancreatic cancer stem cells, with the aim of reducing recurrence after treatment, conclude the authors in Cell Metabolism (online, 10 September 2015)[1]
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References
[1] Sancho P, Burgos-Ramos E, Tavera A et al. MYC/PGC-1alpha balance determines the metabolic phenotype and plasticity of pancreatic cancer stem cells. Cell Metabolism 2015. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cmet.2015.08.015.
