Tumors of the pancreas contain relatively low number of blood vessels and this seems to be the reason that chemotherapy is ineffective in such tumors. This may explain why pancreatic cancer is one of the biggest killers, according to a study headed by David A. Tuverson, Center for Cancer Research in Cambridge (United Kingdom), published in the journal Science.
In working with a line of genetically modified mice that develop pancreatic tumors, Tuverson and his colleagues found that tumors in these rodents are crossed by a few blood vessels (are poorly vascularized), a feature also observed in samples of pancreatic tumor human analyzed.

The researchers then treated mice with the drug used against pancreatic cancer and another compound, IPI-926, which inhibits a molecular signal sequence, the route hedgehog. The combination of drugs led to an increase in the vascularization of the tumor and a better distribution of medicine, which stabilized the progression of the disease. This indicates that the inefficient distribution of medicine is an important factor in the in chemoresistant pancreatic cancer, say researchers 37.

Among the participants in the study are related to pharmaceutical companies, and the signature Cancer Research Technology, associated with the Center for Cancer Research UK, has asked a United States provisional patent application related to this work.

The study could open new avenues for the treatment of pancreatic cancer. In Spain there are about 4,000 cases annually, representing 2.2% of the male tumors (2,129 cases) and 2.7% of women (1,750), according to the Spanish Association Against Cancer. The incidence is increasing since the fifties, as in other developed countries.