Pancreatic cancer is usually described as a single disease. But a new study by an international team led by Australian researchers has revealed it is actually four separate diseases — a discovery that could open the door to more effective, personalized treatments.

The study — led by Sean Grimmond, formerly of The University of Queensland's Institute for Molecular Bioscience — is based on a new analysis of the genetics of pancreatic cancer. Grimmond discovered that the cancer is four types of disease, each with different genetic triggers and survival rates.

Grimmond also uncovered 10 genetic mechanisms that cause normal pancreatic tissue to turn into cancerous tumors. Some of these processes are related to bladder and lung cancers, raising the possibility of using treatments for those cancers to also treat pancreatic tumors, as well.

Grimmond, who is currently director of cancer research at the University of Melbourne, noted existing cancer drugs, and others in development, can potentially target the “damaged machinery” driving pancreatic cancers to develop.

"We identified 32 genes from 10 genetic pathways that are consistently mutated in pancreatic tumors, but further analysis of gene activity revealed four distinct subtypes of tumors," said Grimmond, whose study was published in the journal Nature.

"This study demonstrates that pancreatic cancer is better considered as four separate diseases, with different survival rates, treatments and underlying genetics. Knowing which subtype a patient has would allow a doctor to provide a more accurate prognosis and treatment recommendations.

The work caps seven years of research, during which time Grimmond’s team analyzed the genomes of 456 pancreatic tumors to determine the core processes that are damaged when normal pancreatic tissues change into aggressive cancers.

Grimmond noted there is an urgent need for more knowledge about the genetic causes of pancreatic cancer, with most patients only living a few months after diagnosis and the condition predicted to become the second most common cancer in Western countries within a decade.