
HIGHLIGHTS
- HNF1A was identified as a potential driver of pancreatic cancer metastasis
- FGFR4 was shown to play a key role in cancer cell migration and invasion
- Findings suggest treatment with an FGFR4 inhibitor can disrupt tumor spread
Findings suggest a strategy for slowing cancer spread using existing drugs
Researchers at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center have uncovered new evidence on how pancreatic cancer spreads. In a new study in the journal Molecular Cancer, the team describes how a protein called HNF1A may help drive metastasis — the process by which cancer spreads to other parts of the body — and highlights another protein, FGFR4, as a potential target for future therapies.
Pancreatic cancer is one of the most aggressive and deadly cancers, with a five-year survival rate of 13.3%. Most patients are diagnosed at a late stage, when the cancer has already spread and treatment options are limited. Metastatic pancreatic cancer is especially difficult to treat, and current therapies often offer only modest benefits.
A Roswell Park team led by Ethan Abel, PhD, reports that HNF1A, a transcription factor that regulates gene expression, appears to play a role in making cancer cells more mobile and, therefore, more dangerous.
“We uncovered a novel role for the oncogenic transcription factor HNF1A in driving pancreatic cancer metastasis — a hallmark of this aggressive and hard-to-treat cancer,” says Dr. Abel. “Through our preclinical work in the lab, we also identified the growth factor receptor FGFR4 as a critical mediator of HNF1A-driven metastasis, and demonstrated that targeting FGFR4 with clinically viable inhibitors can limit tumor spread.”