Pancreatic Cells Are Resistant to KRASQ61L Expression due to Hyperactive ERK/MAPK Signaling and Apoptosis Induction.

Summary: Pancreatic cancer is almost always driven by a mutated gene called KRAS. Most patients have a specific version of this mutation, but another version is almost never found in tumors. Why? Scientists discovered that this rare mutation actually works too well. It sends such a strong, hyperactive signal to the cell that it causes the cancer cell to self-destruct! This proves the "Goldilocks" rule for cancer: the growth signal can't be too weak or too strong; it has to be "just right" for the tumor to survive and grow. Understanding this weakness could help us find new ways to trick cancer cells into destroying themselves.