RESULTS

Association with the prognosis of patients with pancreatic cancer of iron metabolic enzyme hepacidin expression levels (Oncology Letters, 2017, in press)

In collaboration with the Department of Surgery, Osaka University (Profs. Masaki Mori and Yuichiro Doki), Toshiyama et al. demonstrated that the expressions of iron metabolic enzymes hepacidin and ferroportin are associated with the prognosis of patients with pancreatic cancer. Given that iron overload is a risk factor for cancer, possibly through the generation of reactive oxygen species, the present study indicates that iron metabolism plays a role in pancreatic cancer, and suggests the significance in novel diagnostic tools and efficient therapeutic targets.