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Discovery of enzyme’s role could help prevent growth, spread of disease
SCIENTISTS here have discovered a genetic clue that could prevent the growth and spread of bile duct cancer.
Led by Professor Teh Bin Tean, the team from the National Cancer Centre Singapore (NCCS) and the Van Andel Research Institute (Vari) in the United States found the level of the enzyme MAPK13 (p38delta mitogen-activated protein kinase) is higher in cholangiocarcinoma (bile duct cancer) than in other forms of liver
cancer or in normal tissue.
It was also found that MAPK13 plays a role in allowing the tumour cells to move and invade normal organ tissues.
The discovery means the enzyme could complement the current biomarkers used to diagnose bile duct cancer.
“This is significant as it is now possible to deactivate the gene through treatment to slow down the cancerous growth,” Prof Teh, who is also the director of the NCCS-Vari team, told The Straits Times.
Bile duct cancer is particularly prevalent in South-east Asia, but cases of the disease are rising in the US, Britain and Australia.
The cancer strikes about 3,000 new patients each year here – the same number as in the US.
It is most commonly found in patients in their 60s and 70s, and the outcome of the disease is generally poor, with a five-year survival rate of less than 5 per cent.
The current treatment of the disease is surgery to remove the bile duct or the bile duct and part of the liver, but with most patients, the cancer is too advanced when diagnosed to operate.
“Understanding the genetics of bile duct cancer means a focused drug targeting it could be developed to improve the long-term survival rate of patients,” said Prof Teh, whose laboratory published its findings in the International Journal Of Cancer last month.
He revealed that bile duct cancer is especially prevalent in the north-eastern part of Thailand, killing thousands each year. It is caused by chronic infections by liver flukes, a flatworm individuals get from eating raw fish.
“With the high number of patients with this form of cancer in the north-eastern part of Thailand, we will be working on setting up clinical trials with Khonkaen University Hospital,” said Prof Teh. Khonkaen University is the largest education and learning centre in north-eastern Thailand.
No date has been set yet.
The published research was partly supported by the Singapore Millennium Foundation, set up by Temasek Holdings in 2001 to boost learning and the development of human capital through research in the new millennium, and the National Cancer Centre Research Foundation.
Tissues used in the study were from the NCCS and Singapore General Hospital.
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