It is typically caught at late stages, as warning signs are easily mistaken for other problems.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But now US researchers say that GPs should be screening smokers more closely for pancreatic cancer development\u2014in the hope of preempting symptoms.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Professor Timothy Frankel, a surgical oncologist and study lead author, said: ‘There’s a potential that we need to treat smokers who develop pancreatic cancer differently.<\/p>\n
‘There is not a great screening mechanism, but people who smoke should be educated about symptoms to look out for and consider referrals to a high-risk clinic.’\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
In the study, published in the journal Cancer Discovery<\/a>, researchers from the University of Michigan Health Rogel Cancer Centre identified a specific cell that responds to cancer causing toxins found in cigarettes.\u00a0<\/p>\n Researchers found that smoking not only increases the risk of pancreatic cancer, but makes outcomes worse\u00a0<\/p>\n The researchers started by exposing mice with pancreatic tumours to toxic chemicals found in cigarettes, known to increase the risk of cancer.\u00a0<\/p>\n They wanted to see how this toxin would impact Interleukin 22 (IL22)\u2014a protein called which has previously been shown to play a role in tumour development.\u00a0<\/p>\n They found that the toxin dramatically changed the way tumours behaved in the body, increasing the rate of cancer progression.\u00a0<\/p>\n ‘It was really quite dramatic,’ Prof Frankel said. ‘The tumours grew much bigger and metastasized throughout the body.’\u00a0<\/p>\n But interestingly in mice with no immune system, the carcinogen did not affect tumour growth.\u00a0<\/p>\n From here, the researchers concluded that the carcinogen was working within the immune system to boost tumour growth\u00a0<\/p>\n They discovered that a type of immune cell, called T-regulatory cells, or Tregs, was key to the process.\u00a0<\/p>\n These cells were found to both produce IL22 and suppress the body’s natural ability to fight tumours.\u00a0<\/p>\n Your browser does not support iframes.<\/p>\n Pancreatic cancer remains one of the least survivable forms of the disease and worryingly its on the rise. Source for data: Cancer Research UK\u00a0<\/p>\n Prof Frankel described this as a ‘two-pronged attack’.<\/p>\n ‘When we eliminated all the Treg cells from these mice, we reversed the entire ability of the cigarette chemical to let the tumour grow,’ he explained.\u00a0<\/p>\n The researchers confirmed their results in human cells, some of which were taken from patients with pancreatic cancer.\u00a0<\/p>\n Unsurprisingly, they found that smokers with the disease had more Treg cells than non-smokers\u2014as a result of the toxin increasing the number of IL22 proteins in the body.<\/p>\n The researchers were further able to show that an inhibitor that blocks the harmful chemical found in cigarettes was effective at shrinking tumours.\u00a0<\/p>\n Prof Frankel said: ‘If we are able to inhibit the super suppressive cells, we might also unlock natural anti-tumour immunity.\u00a0<\/p>\n ‘This could be further activated by current immunotherapies, which do not work well in pancreatic cancer because of the immunosuppressive environment,’ he added.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Whilst more research is needed to better understand the potential use of inhibitors that block this environmental toxin, the findings reveal a novel approach to treating pancreatic cancer patients with a history of smoking.\u00a0<\/p>\n Your browser does not support iframes.<\/p>\n Your browser does not support iframes.<\/p>\n If pancreatic cancer is spotted early, before it spreads throughout the body, about half of patients will survive at least a year.<\/p>\n But if cancer has already spread beyond the organ\u2014as happens for the majority of patients\u2014 only one in 10 patients will survive a year.\u00a0<\/p>\n While pancreatic cancer is most likely to strike people over the age 75\u2014younger groups can also get the disease.<\/p>\n![\"Researchers](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/101834449-15065281-image-a-25_1756987665561.jpg\")
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