From benign growth to pancreatic cancer: New study shows how the switch gets flipped

MedicalXpress | Apr 15, 2026

As we age, our cells accumulate genetic changes—mutations—some of which open the door to cancer. Scientists call these mutations "oncogenic," meaning "tumor-producing." By our senior years, we each may harbor as many as 100 billion cells with at least one oncogenic mutation, researchers have estimated. But many people never develop cancer—and scientists have long worked to understand why only a tiny fraction of these mutated cells ever progress into tumors.