Pancreatic cancer “changes its diet” to keep growing, by switching from sugar glucose to a back-up fuel, new research reveals. The “exciting” findings suggest that using new drugs to block the availability of this molecule called uridine could provide a new treatment for the most common and aggressive form of pancreatic cancer.
According to the study, uridine could help fuel other cancers too – such as lung, stomach and brain cancer. The molecule uridine is available around the body and is essential for a healthy metabolism.
However, researchers found that uridine, which is present in the environment around a tumour, also serves as a food source for pancreatic cancer when glucose is scarce. Taking advantage of uridine in this way allows cancer cells to keep growing even when their usual food source is unavailable, researchers say.
