Researchers at the University of Michigan Rogel Cancer Center have identified a protein -- Argonaute 2 -- that appears to be critical for the progression of benign precursor lesions into pancreatic cancer. Argonaute 2 interacts with K-RAS, which helps relay signals from the outside of a cell to its nucleus. Mutations in the KRAS gene drive more than 90% of pancreatic cancers, and currently there are no therapies that target these mutations.