Pancreatic cancer is often hard to detect and treat because tumors can grow quietly and doctors sometimes remove only the visible tumor. Darren Carpizo of the Wilmot Cancer Institute led a University of Rochester Medicine study published in Developmental Cell. The team studied how pancreatic tumor cells avoid the immune system and how to improve immunotherapy.
The researchers identified a gene called Dec2 that disguises tumor cells from killer T cells by regulating a molecule on the tumor surface. In laboratory experiments, knocking out Dec2 allowed immune cells to find and attack the cancer cells. The team also found that Dec2 levels rise and fall with a circadian rhythm, and the time of day changed how well T cells killed cancer cells.
The study may explain results from a small Memorial Sloan Kettering mRNA vaccine trial: 16 patients received the vaccine and eight patients who generated an immune response remained alive for several years. Carpizo and colleagues built a mouse model that mirrors human pancreatic cancer and used it to study the tumor microenvironment. A pilot grant from Wilmot and the National Cancer Institute supported the research. The next steps include testing Dec2 targeting and timing treatments, but clinical testing timing is not yet clear.
Difficult words
- detect — notice or discover something that is hidden
- disguise — make something look different to hide itdisguises
- immunotherapy — treatment that uses the immune system to fight disease
- killer T cell — immune cell that kills infected or cancer cellskiller T cells
- knock out — stop the action of a gene in experimentsknocking out
- circadian rhythm — natural daily cycle of body processes
- tumor microenvironment — cells and substances around a tumor
- mRNA vaccine — vaccine using messenger RNA to trigger immunity
Tip: hover, focus or tap highlighted words in the article to see quick definitions while you read or listen.
Discussion questions
- Do you think the time of day should be tested in cancer treatment? Why or why not?
- How might targeting a gene like Dec2 change future cancer therapies?
- If a small vaccine trial shows long-term survival for some patients, what should researchers do next?
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