Blocking digestive hormone may prevent pancreatic cancer

Researchers found that a high-fat diet may promote the growth of pancreatic cancer independent of obesity because of the interaction between dietary fat and a digestive hormone.

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Washington: Blocking a digestive hormone may help prevent the spread of diet-induced pancreatic tumors to other areas of the body, a study has found.

Researchers from Georgetown University in the US found that a high-fat diet may promote the growth of pancreatic cancer independent of obesity because of the interaction between dietary fat and cholecystokinin (CCK), a digestive hormone.

CCK is released by the small intestine and is associated with obesity, according to the study published in the American Journal of Physiology-Gastrointestinal and Liver Physiology.

Dietary fat triggers the secretion of CCK; those who follow a diet high in saturated fats often have high levels of CCK.

Previous research has shown that obesity and high-fat diets both together and independently increase the risk of pancreatic cancer.

CCK also regulates regeneration that takes place after partial surgical removal of the pancreas.

Pancreatic growth and regeneration occur through the interaction of CCK with CCK receptors, proteins that bind to CCK to produce a physiological reaction.

The researchers conducted separate mouse studies involving the interactions between dietary fat, CCK, and pancreatic cancer cell growth.

In all studies, half the mice were fed a high-fat diet and the other half followed a normal diet. In the first study, half of the animals were treated with proglumide, a medication that blocks CCK. Second, the mice had tumors lacking CCK. Third, the mice were deficient in CCK and had pancreatic tumors.

The researchers found that mice treated with proglumide had less tumor growth than the untreated mice, even when fed a high-fat diet.

The mice lacking CCK also did not respond to a high-fat diet. These results suggest that CCK is needed to stimulate the growth of pancreatic cancer.