Pancreatic cancer is often aggressive and difficult to treat and also has a low survival rate, marred by a lack of distinct symptoms and screening tools needed to detect the disease in its early stages.
In the study, published in the journal Nature Materials, the researchers revealed that resistance is related to both the physical stiffness of the tissue surrounding cancer cells.
"We found that stiffer tissue can make pancreatic cancer cells resistant to chemotherapy, while softer tissue makes cancer cells more responsive to chemotherapy," said Sarah Heilshorn, professor of science and engineering. of Materials at Stanford University.
The finding may lead to "future drug development to help overcome chemoresistance, which is a major clinical challenge in pancreatic cancer," she added.
The team focused its efforts on pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma, which accounts for 90 percent of pancreatic cancer cases. In these cancers, the network of materials between cells, known as the extracellular matrix, becomes noticeably stiffer. This rigid material acts as a physical block, preventing chemotherapy drugs from reaching cancer cells, the researchers said, noting that treatments based on this idea have not been effective in humans.
In the study, the team developed a designer matrix system: dimensional materials mimicked the biochemical and mechanical properties of both pancreatic tumors and healthy pancreatic tissues. Using their new system, the researchers selectively activated certain types of receptors on cancer cells and tuned the chemical and physical properties of their designer matrix.
In addition to a physically rigid extracellular matrix, the team discovered that high amounts of hyaluronic acid 44. The researchers found that they could reverse this development by moving the cells to a softer matrix (even if it was still high in hyaluronic acid) or by blocking the CD44 receptor (even if the matrix was still stiff).
In the study, published in the journal Nature Materials, the researchers revealed that resistance is related to both the physical stiffness of the tissue surrounding cancer cells.
"We found that stiffer tissue can make pancreatic cancer cells resistant to chemotherapy, while softer tissue makes cancer cells more responsive to chemotherapy," said Sarah Heilshorn, professor of science and engineering. of Materials at Stanford University.
The finding may lead to "future drug development to help overcome chemoresistance, which is a major clinical challenge in pancreatic cancer," she added.
The team focused its efforts on pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma, which accounts for 90 percent of pancreatic cancer cases. In these cancers, the network of materials between cells, known as the extracellular matrix, becomes noticeably stiffer. This rigid material acts as a physical block, preventing chemotherapy drugs from reaching cancer cells, the researchers said, noting that treatments based on this idea have not been effective in humans.
In the study, the team developed a designer matrix system: dimensional materials mimicked the biochemical and mechanical properties of both pancreatic tumors and healthy pancreatic tissues. Using their new system, the researchers selectively activated certain types of receptors on cancer cells and tuned the chemical and physical properties of their designer matrix.
In addition to a physically rigid extracellular matrix, the team discovered that high amounts of hyaluronic acid 44. The researchers found that they could reverse this development by moving the cells to a softer matrix (even if it was still high in hyaluronic acid) or by blocking the CD44 receptor (even if the matrix was still stiff).
