Cancer, a disease, is incurable with lots of health issues. But science has evolved and there came various forms of treatments to save the lives of humans. Basically, cancer consists of a group of diseases. Any part of the body can be affected by cancerous cells resulting in health issues. In cancer, due to the uncontrolled growth of cancerous cells, it is a long process treatment. Pancreatic cancer is an uncontrolled cell growth in the pancreas.
Optical Imaging- A New Path Towards The Pancreatic Tumour
It is regarded as one of the rare fatal diseases with a five-year survival rate, being as low as ten percent and further reduction to three percent if the cells have undergone metastasis. The treatment for pancreatic cancer is expensive and limited. In this type of cancer, the symptoms are not visible. Thus this remains one of the most terrifying diseases. As there are no symptoms, it becomes difficult for the patient to detect or realize them.
Hence the survival rate becomes low. Sakal labs use the advanced technology of optical imaging for a better understanding of the tumor microenvironment and to study the change in metabolic activities resulting in tumor growth. Through various researches, it is jotted down that active cancer cells can take over the cells which are not affected by cancer. Therefore this leads to the spread of cancer in the body at a higher rate.
The major role is played by the extracellular matrix (ECM) when the cancer cells start to multiply rapidly. The extracellular matrix comprises extracellular molecules, collagen, enzymes, glycoproteins, and hydroxyapatite. The major function of ECM is to serve a shape or structure to the cells which make an organ resembling the pancreas. Every coin has two sides, therefore, cells named fibroblasts or pancreatic stellate cells (PSC) are regarded as non-cancer cells.
The relation between these two types of cells acts as a booster dose for the rise in cancer. Researchers have amalgamated pancreatic cancer cells and PSCs to form an organoid model. This model is three-dimensional which includes minute details of the real organ which is replicated on the model. This model is of great help for the researchers, as they can get a broad concept of the affected cells. The metabolism is calculated on the basis of a decrease in oxidation, which can differ when there is the transportation of electrons and molecules inside the cell.
Through this, it is found that cancer cells oxidize and shift to expansion. After coming in contact with the cancerous cells, PSCs are reduced thereby affecting metabolic activities. The exchange of cells leads to a redox state still unknown. Rupsa Datta, a Skala lab assistant mentions that there is still lots undiscovered in this field which will require hard work and a great amount of time. Skala Lab formed an alliance with Matt Vander Heiden, a cancer biologist, and his team at the Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), to work on this fatal disease.
Being a long-distance collaboration people could travel to these locations. Datta further-on says that although advanced imaging techniques were developed by Skala Lab, Vander Heiden Lab has played a major role in setting up the organoid model. This collaboration has been a turning point with constantly new research and is positive that this technique will be powerful and effective in understanding ways to tackle the disease. With new labs adopting such a technique they will eventually have to collaborate with a visionary lab like theirs. Success in this field will instill a ray of hope in the minds of people.
