The mechanism of malignant potential in digestive cancers based on intestinal metaplasia

2020 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 18H02791
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B)
• Allocation Type: Single-year Grants
• Section: 一般
• Review Section: Basic Section 53010:Gastroenterology-related
• Research Institution: Tokyo Medical and Dental University
• Principal Investigator: Tsuchiya Kiichiro 東京医科歯科大学, 医学部附属病院, 准教授 (40376786)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): 渡辺 守 東京医科歯科大学, 高等研究院, 特別栄誉教授 (10175127) ; 赤星 径一 東京医科歯科大学, 医学部附属病院, 助教 (80749523) ; 伴 大輔 東京医科歯科大学, 大学院医歯学総合研究科, 講師 (40376736)
• Project Period (FY): 2018-04-01 – 2021-03-31
• Keywords: 腸上皮化生 / IPMN / Atoh1

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Pancreatic cancer is still intractable, but it is expected that the number of pancreatic cancers generated from intraductal papillary mucinous tumor (IPMN) will increase in the future. In IPMN, pancreatic cells are transformed into intestinal phenotype, but their involvement in carcinogenesis was unknown. In this study, we found that the expression of factors that regulate intestinal phenotype is increased in the process of developing pancreatic cancer of IPMN. Introducing the intestinal regulator into pancreatic cancer cells results in an intestinal type tumor with mucous traits, which grows, suggesting that intestinal phenotypes are associated with carcinogenesis of pancreatic cancer of IPMN.

Free Research Field

消化器病学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

膵癌は未だ難治ですが、今後膵管内乳頭粘液性腫瘍（IPMN）から癌化する膵癌の増加が予想されています。しかしながらがん化する病態は未だ不明です。IPMNは膵臓から腸の形質に変化するものが多いため、今回腸の形質が膵臓癌の癌化に関わる機序を解析しました。その結果、大腸癌の治療標的となる分子が膵臓癌においても発現していることを発見しました。大腸癌の治療が膵臓癌にも応用できることが期待されます。