Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is the most common form of pancreatic cancer and is projected to become the second-leading cause of cancer-related death by 2030. Although progress has been made in improving outcomes, the five-year survival rate remains stubbornly low at just 13%.
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IMAGE: Pathway of mutant p53 from liquid droplets to gel-like and solid-like (amyloid) states, in vitro and in cell. view more
Credit: Guilherme de Oliveira
Cancer has been recently shown to be affected by protein clusters, particularly by the aggregation of mutant variants of the tumor suppressor protein p53, which are present in more than half of malignant tumors. However, how the aggregates are formed is not yet fully understood. The understanding of this process is expected to provide new therapeutic tools able to prevent proteins to clump and cancer progression.
In Brazil, researchers at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro have identified a key mechanism behind the mutant p53 aggregation process, linked to cancer pathology, opening new paths for the development of novels drugs against the disease.