Scientists have established the first pancreatic tumor cell line, a new research tool to battle one of the deadliest forms of the disease.

Researchers at the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute, led by Ramzi Mohammad, Ph.D., published their results this month in the journal Pancreas. The cell line, named KCI-MOH1, will provide investigators with a readily available tool to evaluate new or existing therapies.

To establish KCI-MOH1, Mohammad and his colleagues implanted human pancreatic cancer cells, removed surgically from a 74-year-old man, into immune deficient mice. The tumor was found to have a strong expression of p53 and p21 proteins, suggesting the presence of a mutant p53 gene in the cell line.

"This cell line, while by no means a cure for the disease, provides an important new tool by which we can more rapidly test potential therapies," said Mohammad, an assistant professor in the Wayne State University School of Medicine. "The faster we can use the cell line to screen new compounds against pancreatic disease, then the faster we can get promising agents into the clinical setting."

One such compound, the murine animal product Auristatin-PE, appears to be active against KCI-MOH1. An intensive research project is presently underway to introduce Auristatin-PE into clinical trials against pancreatic cancer.

Pancreatic cancer is considered a "silent" disease - it usually has no symptoms until it reaches an advanced stage. Due to late diagnosis, less than four percent of patients survive five years or more, one of the lowest rates of any tumor type surveyed nationally. Less than 10 percent survive two years, and the average survival from the time of diagnosis to time of death is only three months. Only 15 percent of patients reach their physicians with tumors that are operable.

Despite recent advances in surgery, chemotherapy and radiation therapy, both the death rate and incidence of pancreatic cancer continue to rise. Also, compared to more commonly diagnosed cancers such as those of the breast and prostate, the disease is studied by only a few researchers.

"We know very little about pancreatic cancer," notes Vainutis Vaitkevicius, M.D., a co-author of the study and a member of the National Cancer Advisory Board. "We need all the help we can get to diagnose, treat and prevent these cancers."

Pancreatic cancer is the fifth leading cause of cancer mortality in the U.S., accounting for more than 25,000 new cases - and nearly 28,000 deaths - in 1998. African Americans are diagnosed with the disease at a higher rate than whites. Risk factors include smoking and diets high in fat.

In addition to Mohammad and Vaitkevicius, co-authors of the study include Ayad Al-Katib, M.D., Victor P. Almatchy, Ph.D., Sanaa Dergham, Ph.D., Michael Dugan, Ph.D., Thomas Flake, M.D., Anwar Mohamed, Ph.D., Fazlul Sarkar, Ph.D., and Anthony Shields, M.D., Ph.D. The Marlin Pemberton Fund for Pancreatic Cancer Research supported the work.