Pancreatic cancer is actually four different diseases, says an Australian-led study paving the way for more targeted and effective treatments.
The four subtypes of the deadly disease were found to have different genetic triggers and survival rates.
The scientists also identified 10 different genetic pathways involved in transforming normal pancreatic tissue into cancerous tumours.
Some of these processes are related to bladder and lung cancers, opening up the possibility of using treatments for these cancers to also treat pancreatic cancer.
The seven-year international study, led by Australian researchers including the University of Melbourne's Professor Sean Grimmond, analysed the genetics of pancreatic cancers in 456 patients.
The disease is predicted to become the second most common cancer in western countries within a decade, with most patients only living a few months after diagnosis, he said.
The study, published in Nature, found four different types of the deadly cancer.
"We identified 32 genes from 10 genetic pathways that are consistently mutated in pancreatic tumours, but further analysis of gene activity revealed four distinct subtypes of tumours," Prof Grimmond said.
"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."
There are already cancer drugs, and drugs in development, that can potentially target the parts of the "damaged machinery" driving pancreatic cancers to start, he said.
"For example, some strains of pancreatic cancer are unexpectedly associated with mutations normally associated with colon cancer or leukaemia and for which experimental drugs are available or in development.
"Other pancreatic cancers bear strong similarities to some bladder and lung cancers and we can start to draw on that knowledge to improve treatments."
