New research out of VCU Massey Cancer Center suggests that the inactivation of NF1—a gene known as Neurofibromin-1 that holds natural tumor-suppressing functions—could be instrumental in the onset of pancreatic cancer, either in tandem with KRAS mutations, which occur in 85-90% of all pancreatic tumors, or even before any mutations occur in the KRAS gene, in partnership with TP53, the most inactivated tumor suppressor gene in human malignancies.
Twenty-seven species of bacteria and fungi, among the hundreds that live in people’s mouths, have been collectively tied to a 3.5 times greater risk of developing pancreatic cancer, according to a study led by NYU Langone Health and its Perlmutter Cancer Center.
