Genetic Relations to Pancreatic Cancer
Bree Busch
Baker University School of Nursing
Pathophysiology
The pancreas is an organ located in the upper left quadrant of your abdomen behind the stomach. It helps to digest food by producing enzymes that are excreted into the pancreatic duct. The pancreatic duct runs the length of the pancreas and drains fluid to the duodenum to the intestines. The second function of the pancreas is to release hormones such as insulin and glucagon from the islets of Langerhans into the blood stream helping control blood sugar levels (John Hopkins, 2015).
In pancreatic cancer, tumors form in the pancreas due to abnormal division of cells, inhibiting the function of the pancreas. The most …show more content…
Their goal was to identify altered genes that could indicate possible predictors of the cancer leading to an earlier diagnosis as well as genes that could determine other characteristics of pancreatic cancer. To do this, they used whole-exome sequencing to analyze the genes of pancreatic adenocarcinoma and liquid biopsy to see the circulation tumor DNA in the blood. After examining the tumors, findings showed that alterations in chromatin-regulating genes, called MLL genes, were associated with an improved diagnosis of the gene. This was determined after over 79% of the clients with the mutations of MLL were alive after 32 months. The average of survival for individuals with a set of genes was only 15 months. After performing and analyzing the liquid biopsies done at the time of diagnosis, 43% of the patients had ctDNA circulating in their blood. Researchers determined that circulation tumor DNA or ctDNA was an indicator of pancreatic cancer and could eventually lead to early detection of the onset or reoccurrence of pancreatic cancer (nature …show more content…
The primary problem with pancreatic cancer is the inability to observe visible manifestations and diagnose until it has already metastasized. While it is not genetically related the knowledge of ctDNA in the blood being an indicator could lead to lab tests achieved to determine the presence of ctDNA. Genetically however, once diagnosed, the MLL gene could be altered to increase the chance for survival. Hopefully in the future, a patient’s medical chart could have a list of an individual’s genes, like an advanced karyotype to determine risks and health problems. More importantly, in the future, scientists could come up with a type of tertiary prevention to prohibit the reoccurrence of the cancer or a type of initial treatment the patient to remove
Bree Busch
Baker University School of Nursing
Pathophysiology
The pancreas is an organ located in the upper left quadrant of your abdomen behind the stomach. It helps to digest food by producing enzymes that are excreted into the pancreatic duct. The pancreatic duct runs the length of the pancreas and drains fluid to the duodenum to the intestines. The second function of the pancreas is to release hormones such as insulin and glucagon from the islets of Langerhans into the blood stream helping control blood sugar levels (John Hopkins, 2015).
In pancreatic cancer, tumors form in the pancreas due to abnormal division of cells, inhibiting the function of the pancreas. The most …show more content…
Their goal was to identify altered genes that could indicate possible predictors of the cancer leading to an earlier diagnosis as well as genes that could determine other characteristics of pancreatic cancer. To do this, they used whole-exome sequencing to analyze the genes of pancreatic adenocarcinoma and liquid biopsy to see the circulation tumor DNA in the blood. After examining the tumors, findings showed that alterations in chromatin-regulating genes, called MLL genes, were associated with an improved diagnosis of the gene. This was determined after over 79% of the clients with the mutations of MLL were alive after 32 months. The average of survival for individuals with a set of genes was only 15 months. After performing and analyzing the liquid biopsies done at the time of diagnosis, 43% of the patients had ctDNA circulating in their blood. Researchers determined that circulation tumor DNA or ctDNA was an indicator of pancreatic cancer and could eventually lead to early detection of the onset or reoccurrence of pancreatic cancer (nature …show more content…
The primary problem with pancreatic cancer is the inability to observe visible manifestations and diagnose until it has already metastasized. While it is not genetically related the knowledge of ctDNA in the blood being an indicator could lead to lab tests achieved to determine the presence of ctDNA. Genetically however, once diagnosed, the MLL gene could be altered to increase the chance for survival. Hopefully in the future, a patient’s medical chart could have a list of an individual’s genes, like an advanced karyotype to determine risks and health problems. More importantly, in the future, scientists could come up with a type of tertiary prevention to prohibit the reoccurrence of the cancer or a type of initial treatment the patient to remove