“Totally Unexpected” – Scientists Discover Pancreatic Cancer’s Fatal Addiction

From  SciTechDaily

Researchers at The Wistar Institute and ChristianaCare’s Helen F. Graham Cancer Center & Research Institute have identified a weakness in pancreatic cancer that may open the door to new treatments. Their study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, found that damaged mitochondria inside cancer cells trigger inflammation that tumors rely on to survive and grow. When that inflammatory process is blocked, the cancer cells die.

The findings point to a signaling pathway called TLR3/TRAF6 as a possible treatment target for pancreatic cancer, according to senior author Dario Altieri, M.D., president and CEO of The Wistar Institute, director of the Ellen and Ronald Caplan Cancer Center, and Robert and Penny Fox Distinguished Professor. He said this is the first time the mechanism has been linked to cancer development.