No Glucose? Pancreatic Cancer May Have a Ready Energy Alternative ++++

No Glucose? Pancreatic Cancer May Have a Ready Energy Alternative A new study finds that pancreatic cancer cells have a ready way to overcome a lack of glucose, a frequent occurrence in this disease. They use another fuel source: a molecule called uridine. Findings from a related study suggest other cancers do as well. https://www.cancer.gov/news-events/cancer-currents-blog/2023/pancreatic-cancer-uridine-energy-alternative?cid=eb_govdel How Some Brain Tumors Hijack the Mind to Grow Researchers have found that the aggressive brain cancer glioblastoma can co-opt the formation of new synapses to fuel its own growth. This neural redirection also appears to play a role in the devastating cognitive decline seen in many people with glioblastoma. https://www.cancer.gov/news-events/cancer-currents-blog/2023/glioblastoma-hijacks-neuroplasticity-tsp-1?cid=eb_govdel Coming Full Circle on Cancer and Extrachromosomal DNA A new study shows for the first time that a circular form of DNA, called ecDNA, is present in precancerous tissue and not just cancer cells. The study also suggested that when ecDNA is present in Barrett’s esophagus, that tissue is almost certain to become cancer. https://www.cancer.gov/news-events/cancer-currents-blog/2023/extrachromosomal-dna-barretts-esophageal-cancer?cid=eb_govdel Vulnerability in Brain Tumors May Open Door to New Treatments Two companion studies have found different forms of some brain tumors, diffuse midline glioma and IDH-mutant glioma, become dependent for their survival on the production of chemicals called pyrimidines. Researchers are planning clinical trials to test a drug that blocks pyrimidine synthesis in patients with gliomas. https://www.cancer.gov/news-events/cancer-currents-blog/2022/glioma-treatment-targeting-pyrimidine-synthesis?cid=eb_govdel