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The liver casts a wide NET for metastatic pancreatic cancer

Nature Medicine volume 30, pages 2125–2126 (2024)Cite this article

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The liver can create a uniquely favorable milieu for early colonization by metastatic pancreatic cancer cells. A study now highlights mechanisms — such as neutrophil extracellular traps, or NETs — that drive this process; this could inform strategies for intercepting metastasis and improving survival.

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Fig. 1: Predicting post-operative liver metastasis in individuals with pancreatic cancer.

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Acknowledgements

We thank E. Y. Faraoni for her valuable comments on this article.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Genetics, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Centre, Houston, TX, USA

    Le Li & Florencia McAllister

  2. Department of Gastrointestinal Medical Oncology, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Centre, Houston, TX, USA

    Florencia McAllister

  3. Department of Immunology, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Centre, Houston, TX, USA

    Florencia McAllister

  4. Department of Pathology, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Centre, Houston, TX, USA

    Anirban Maitra

  5. Department of Translational Molecular Pathology, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Centre, Houston, TX, USA

    Anirban Maitra

  6. Sheikh Ahmed Centre for Pancreatic Cancer Research, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Centre, Houston, TX, USA

    Anirban Maitra

Authors
  1. Le Li
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  2. Florencia McAllister
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  3. Anirban Maitra
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Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Florencia McAllister or Anirban Maitra.

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Competing interests

F.M. is a scientific advisory board member at Neologics Bio. A.M. is a consultant for Tezcat Biosciences and is named on a patent that has been licensed to ThriveEarlier Detection, an Exact Sciences Company. L.L declares no competing interests.

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Li, L., McAllister, F. & Maitra, A. The liver casts a wide NET for metastatic pancreatic cancer. Nat Med 30, 2125–2126 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-024-03112-5

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