Scientists have uncovered new details about how pancreatic cancer constantly changes its genetic makeup, allowing it to become more aggressive, spread throughout the body, and resist treatment. By examining nearly half a million individual cancer cells, researchers identified genetic changes that could reveal new ways to fight one of the deadliest forms of cancer.

The study, conducted by scientists at NYU Langone Health and its Perlmutter Cancer Center, focused on pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma, a particularly difficult cancer to treat. Nearly 85 percent of patients die within five years of being diagnosed.

Although researchers have already linked more than half a dozen genes to the disease, much remains unknown about how pancreatic cancer develops and adapts.…