UK scientists have identified a protein that appears to influence the ability of pancreatic cancer cells to spread.
A research team at Queen Mary, University of London discovered that the protein, called S100PBP, suppresses another protein called cathepsin Z that makes pancreatic cancer cells 'sticky'.
Without this stickiness, the cancer cells are less able to attach to and invade surrounding tissues.
Lead researcher Dr Tatjana Crnogorac-Jurcevic, from Queen Mary's Barts Cancer Institute, said the findings may be 'significant'.
She said: 'A greater understanding of the role these proteins play in the adhesion and spread of pancreatic cancer to other organs, which is almost always the case in this deadly cancer, could help us to develop novel preventive and therapeutic targets.'
The study is published in the American Journal of Pathology and was funded by the Pancreatic Cancer Research Fund.
Earlier this year, a study in the Lancet Oncology journal found that 41 per cent of people with pancreatic cancer see their GP at least three times before being referred to a specialist for diagnosis.
This means that many do not have their cancer detected until it has reached an advanced stage.