Gene Discovery May Improve Pancreatic Cancer Diagnosis, Treatment

Mar. 23 -- TUESDAY, May 1 (HealthDay News) -- Scientists say they can use small bits of genetic material called microRNA to spot key differences between chronic pancreatitis and pancreatic cancer, aiding in earlier diagnosis for the lethal malignancy.

The researchers say doctors might also someday use microRNA to help predict the survival of patients with pancreatic cancer.

The report is especially important, because pancreatic cancer is one of the most lethal cancers known, eventually killing almost all of the 33,000 Americans it affects each year.

The problem is that pancreatic tumors often grow very large without outward symptoms, leading to late diagnoses and poor patient outcomes.

But "microRNA can help in the diagnosis," said lead researcher Dr. Mark Bloomston, a professor of surgery at Ohio State University, Columbus. "It could also, potentially have some prognostic implications," he added.

His team published its findings in the May 2 Journal of the American Medical Association.

"MicroRNA are small genes that regulate other genes and cells," Bloomston explained. "The role of microRNA has already been explored in other cancers, such as leukemia, breast and lung cancer, and stomach and colon cancer. MicroRNAs are important in normal physiology in the development of the human body, so it is only fitting that they have a role in cancer," he said.

The Ohio expert noted that in the pancreas, microRNA takes on a different form in normal versus cancerous tissue. It is also altered in inflammatory conditions, such as chronic pancreatitis.

According to Bloomston, diagnosing pancreatic cancer is never simple, even when doctors have a biopsy tissue sample to evaluate. "However, looking at how microRNA differs between cancer and normal tissue could help in making an accurate diagnosis," he said.

In the study, the Ohio team performed experiments to identify the patterns of microRNA in pancreatic cancer, attempting to differentiate pancreatic cancer from benign pancreatic tissue.