Combining hedgehog signaling inhibition with focal irradiation on reduction of pancreatic cancer metastasis.

ABSTRACT: Pancreatic cancer often presents in advanced stages and is unresponsive to conventional treatments. Thus, the need to develop novel treatment strategies for pancreatic cancer has never been greater. Here, we report that combination of focal irradiation with hedgehog (Hh) signaling inhibition exerts better than additive effects on reducing metastases. In an orthotopic model, we found that focal irradiation alone effectively reduced primary tumor growth but did not significantly affect metastasis. We hypothesized that cancer stem cells (CSC) of pancreatic cancer are responsible for the residual tumors following irradiation, which may be regulated by Hh signaling. To test our hypothesis, we showed that tumor metastasis in our model was accompanied by increased expression of CSC cell surface m

SUBMITTER: Gu D 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3681871 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature