The mineral zinc may be a new weapon in the battle against pancreatic cancer, according to a report in Cancer Biology & Therapy. Scientists at the University of Maryland found that zinc appears to suppress tumors of the most common form of the deadly cancer.
“The report establishes for the first time, with direct measurements in human pancreatic tissue, that the level of zinc is markedly lower in pancreatic adenocarcinoma cells as compared with normal pancreas cells,” said lead author Leslie Costello, Ph.D. in a press release.
Scientists found a decrease in zinc levels in cells at the beginning stages of the cancer as well as at its advanced stages.
“The fundamental implication is that we now know something about the development of pancreatic cancer that was not previously known,” continues Costello. “It provides a potential approach to treatment, that is, to find a way to get zinc back into the malignant cells, which will kill them,” he said.
In addition, the scientists uncovered an important genetic factor that may eventually play a role in developing an early diagnostic tool. Malignant cells shut down a zinc transporting molecule called ZIP3, which is responsible for guiding zinc through the cell membrane and into the cells. In essence, the researchers have discovered an early genetic/metabolic change in the development of pancreatic cancer. Cancer researchers previously did not know that the ZIP3 gene expression is lost in malignant pancreatic cells, resulting in lower zinc.
