{"id":223186,"date":"2025-10-06T13:09:50","date_gmt":"2025-10-06T23:09:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=223186"},"modified":"2025-10-06T13:09:50","modified_gmt":"2025-10-06T23:09:50","slug":"new-clue-in-pancreatic-cancer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2025\/10\/06\/new-clue-in-pancreatic-cancer\/","title":{"rendered":"Medical student uncovers new clue in pancreatic cancer"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading time: <\/span> 2<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>
\"Thomas
Thomas Mandel Clausen<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A fourth-year medical student at the University of Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> at M\u0101noa\u2019s John A. Burns School of Medicine<\/abbr><\/a> (JABSOM<\/abbr>) has helped uncover a surprising clue in one of the deadliest cancers. Thomas Mandel Clausen\u2019s research points to a little-known sugar molecule that could one day help doctors detect pancreatic cancer earlier—and potentially slow its spread.<\/p>\n

The study, published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation<\/a><\/em> (Impact Factor 13.6), began a year–and–a–half before Clausen entered JABSOM<\/abbr>.<\/p>\n

“I started working on this research right after COVID<\/abbr>, while at UCSD<\/abbr>,” Clausen said. “We had just published a big study on COVID<\/abbr> and thought some of the reagents and techniques we developed could be applied to pancreatic cancer. That\u2019s when we discovered something interesting.”<\/p>\n

Clausen\u2019s research centers on a sugar molecule called HSAT<\/abbr>. It works like heparin—a compound known for thinning blood—by interacting with proteins in the body. His team discovered that both normal pancreatic cells and the earliest cancer cells make HSAT<\/abbr>.<\/p>\n

“Basically, pancreatic cancer cells are making a heparin–like sugar—something we thought was very rare in humans. That\u2019s the big discovery,” Clausen explained.<\/p>\n

They also found that early pancreatic tumors release more HSAT<\/abbr> into tissues and blood, meaning it could help detect cancer sooner. But when the team used CRISPR<\/abbr> gene editing to stop cells from making HSAT<\/abbr>, the cancer became more aggressive.<\/p>\n

Clausen said this shows HSAT<\/abbr> may not only signal when cancer is present but could also help slow its growth.<\/p>\n

Balancing science and medicine<\/h2>\n

While these findings could have broad implications for pancreatic cancer treatment, Clausen\u2019s path to this discovery has been equally remarkable. Originally from Denmark, he trained as a biochemist, earning a PhD<\/abbr> in clinical cancer research and completing two postdocs before pursuing medicine.<\/p>\n

“It feels amazing. I\u2019ve been working on this manuscript for the three years I\u2019ve been a medical student. It\u2019s a huge relief to see it published,” he said.<\/p>\n

“Back in Denmark, we call people like me ‘eternal students,’ the ones who never finish,” he joked. “As a scientist, we do a lot of cool studies and publish a lot, but it\u2019s hard to see your research directly impact patients. That\u2019s what I yearn for.”<\/p>\n

Clausen hopes to become an oncologist who combines patient care with research, conducting studies that directly affect patients and their disease.<\/p>\n

Read more at JABSOM<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Thomas Clausen\u2019s research on a sugar molecule may lead to earlier detection of pancreatic cancer<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":223192,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[218,31,1467,1363,158,9],"class_list":["post-223186","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-research","tag-cancer","tag-john-a-burns-school-of-medicine","tag-manoa-excellence-in-research","tag-manoa-research","tag-publication","tag-uh-manoa","entry","has-media"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t