Soluble factors for thrombosis associated with pancreatic cancer

2021 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 19K16533
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Early-Career Scientists
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Review Section: Basic Section 49010:Pathological biochemistry-related
• Research Institution: The University of Tokyo
• Principal Investigator: Ishigaki Kazunaga 東京大学, 医学部附属病院, 特任講師 (60836287)
• Project Period (FY): 2019-04-01 – 2022-03-31
• Keywords: 膵がん

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Thromboembolism is a common complication in cancer-bearing patients, and is the second leading cause of death in cancer patients. Among cancers, pancreatic cancer is prone to develop thromboembolism, and in this study, we investigated the pathogenic mechanism of thromboembolism, which is closely related to the prognosis of pancreatic cancer patients. Since it seemed that liver metastasis is the largest risk factor for the development of thromboembolism, some humoral factor secreted by pancreatic cancer cells were likely to cause systemic thromboembolism. As a result of the examination, it was suggested that the development of pancreatic cancer tissue is influenced by VEGF, and that a large amount of extracellular vesicles released from cancer tissues induces thromboembolisms at the vascular endothelial cells.

Free Research Field

消化器内科学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

本研究は 膵がんで合併することの多い血栓塞栓症の機序を解明するべく、膵癌組織から何かしらの液性因子が放出されることで血栓素因が形成されるのではないかという仮説のもとに検討を行った。種々の分子生物学的手法を用いて、最終的に可溶性のVCAM1という因子が膵癌組織から放出されそれが血栓形成に関与している可能性をみいだした。この結果から、例えば抗体などを用いてそのメカニズムに介入することで、上記のような膵癌に伴う血栓形成による病態の悪化を防ぐことが可能となるかもしれない。そうなれば予後の悪い膵癌の予後延長に寄与できる可能性がある。