Pancreatic cancer prevalence increases with age, and disease prognosis is poorer in older individuals. The increased prevalence is driven, undoubtedly, by the multistep accumulation of oncogenic mutations in cancer cells with age. However, fibroblasts are major constituents and key players in pancreatic cancer, and they too undergo age-related changes that may contribute to disease severity. In this issue of Cancer Research, Zabransky and colleagues set out to dissect the effect of age-related changes in pancreatic fibroblasts on pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma growth and metastasis. They discovered that aged fibroblasts secrete GDF-15, which in turn activates AKT signaling and accelerates tumor progression. These findings provide a mechanistic role for aged fibroblasts in pancreatic cancer, underpinning the importance of normal physiologic processes in tumor progression. See related article by Zabransky et al., p. 1221

中文翻译：

---

揭示成纤维细胞年龄相关变化在胰腺癌中的作用

胰腺癌患病率随着年龄的增长而增加，老年人的疾病预后较差。毫无疑问，患病率的增加是由于癌细胞中致癌突变随着年龄的增长而多步积累造成的。然而，成纤维细胞是胰腺癌的主要成分和关键参与者，它们也会经历与年龄相关的变化，这可能会导致疾病的严重程度。在本期《癌症研究》中，Zabransky 及其同事着手剖析胰腺成纤维细胞与年龄相关的变化对胰腺导管腺癌生长和转移的影响。他们发现，衰老的成纤维细胞会分泌 GDF-15，进而激活 AKT 信号传导并加速肿瘤进展。这些发现提供了衰老成纤维细胞在胰腺癌中的机制作用，支撑了正常生理过程在肿瘤进展中的重要性。请参阅 Zabransky 等人的相关文章，第 17 页。 1221