Summary
Pancreatic cancer is one of the most lethal malignancies, showing a high rate of metastatic spread and a dismal prognosis. With almost no effective treatment options, new therapies to treat this devastating disease are urgently needed. Such advances will depend on a better understanding of the mechanisms that drive pancreas cancer progression. Previous work has revealed two interesting features of pancreas cancer on which this proposal is built. Firstly, pancreas cancers contain an extremely high stromal component – normal cells that become part of the tumour mass and contribute to the control of malignant progression. Secondly, obesity – a rapidly growing epidemic worldwide – is associated with increased pancreas cancer development. This proposal aims to understand the mechanisms underlying the link between obesity and pancreas cancer, focusing on the metabolic cross talk between the adipocytes in the tumour environment and the tumour cells themselves. This is a pioneering project that pulls together critical aspects of pancreas cancer biology, building on a solid platform of existing knowledge around the importance of metabolic alterations in cancer and the role of other types of tumour associated stromal cells. State of the art metabolomic analyses and in vivo models will be used to identify novel aspects of metabolic control of the tumour cell environment, how these changes promote pancreas cancer progression and the impact of obesity on these responses. Focusing on the importance of adipocytes, the modulation of reactive oxygen species and the metabolite formate, we will apply our extensive expertise to a new area of study, determining novel mechanisms that underpin pancreas cancer progression. Ultimately, the insights developed by this proposal will provide a rational basis for the development of new therapeutic options. These studies will therefore have far-reaching impact on one of the world’s most devastating diseases.
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| Web resources: | https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/101020641 |
| Start date: | 01-09-2021 |
| End date: | 31-08-2026 |
| Total budget - Public funding: | 2 500 000,00 Euro - 2 500 000,00 Euro |
Cordis data
Original description
Pancreatic cancer is one of the most lethal malignancies, showing a high rate of metastatic spread and a dismal prognosis. With almost no effective treatment options, new therapies to treat this devastating disease are urgently needed. Such advances will depend on a better understanding of the mechanisms that drive pancreas cancer progression. Previous work has revealed two interesting features of pancreas cancer on which this proposal is built. Firstly, pancreas cancers contain an extremely high stromal component – normal cells that become part of the tumour mass and contribute to the control of malignant progression. Secondly, obesity – a rapidly growing epidemic worldwide – is associated with increased pancreas cancer development. This proposal aims to understand the mechanisms underlying the link between obesity and pancreas cancer, focusing on the metabolic cross talk between the adipocytes in the tumour environment and the tumour cells themselves. This is a pioneering project that pulls together critical aspects of pancreas cancer biology, building on a solid platform of existing knowledge around the importance of metabolic alterations in cancer and the role of other types of tumour associated stromal cells. State of the art metabolomic analyses and in vivo models will be used to identify novel aspects of metabolic control of the tumour cell environment, how these changes promote pancreas cancer progression and the impact of obesity on these responses. Focusing on the importance of adipocytes, the modulation of reactive oxygen species and the metabolite formate, we will apply our extensive expertise to a new area of study, determining novel mechanisms that underpin pancreas cancer progression. Ultimately, the insights developed by this proposal will provide a rational basis for the development of new therapeutic options. These studies will therefore have far-reaching impact on one of the world’s most devastating diseases.Status
SIGNEDCall topic
ERC-2020-ADGUpdate Date
27-04-2024
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