BACKGROUND CD44 is a potentially interesting prognostic marker and therapeutic target in pancreatic cancer. The expression of CD44 has been reported to correlate with poor prognosis of pancreatic cancer in most literatures. The purpose of this study is to investigate the roles of CD44 in pancreatic caner, and their correlation with the prognosis of pancreatic cancer patients. METHODS 67 pancr...

OBJECTIVE To conduct a systematic review of the role that the hedgehog signaling pathway has in pancreatic cancer tumorigenesis. METHOD PubMed search (2000-2010) and literature based references. RESULTS Firstly, in 2009 a genetic analysis of pancreatic cancers found that a core set of 12 cellular signaling pathways including hedgehog were genetically altered in 67-100% of cases. Secondly, i...

BACKGROUND Pancreatic cancer is rare but highly malignant. Studies have shown that surgeons' knowledge closely links to the correct diagnosis and treatment outcomes of pancreatic cancer. The purpose of this study was to survey current surgeons' knowledge regarding pancreatic cancer. METHODS A cross-sectional study was conducted among 705 surgeons who attended the 2011 China Surgical Week's me...

Pancreatic Cancer is the fourth cause of cancer-related deaths in the United States. Up to 80% of pancreatic cancer patients present with either new-onset type 2 diabetes or impaired glucose tolerance at the time of diagnosis. Recent literature suggests that diabetes mellitus type 2 is a risk factor, a manifestation and a prognostic factor for pancreatic cancer. This article is intended to clar...

Patients with pancreatic cancer have an especially poor prognosis, with a 5-year survival rate of < 1% and a median survival of 4-6 months. The management of patients with pancreatic cancer depends on the extent of the disease at diagnosis. However, at the time of diagnosis the vast majority of pancreatic cancers are at an advanced disease state, and surgical resection with curative intent is i...

BACKGROUND/AIMS Hereditary pancreatic cancer comprises about 10% of pancreatic cancer cases. Multiple causative mutations have been identified. Here we describe a pancreatitis/pancreatic cancer (P/PC) family, which demonstrates pancreatitis and pancreatic cancer resulting from an uncharacterized mutation. METHODS Family members completed evaluations to determine signs of mutation status. Sele...

To investigate the relationship between DNA hypomethylation and gene overexpression in pancreatic cancer, we analyzed the methylation status of a subset of 18 genes previously identified by global gene expression studies as overexpressed in pancreatic cancer tissues compared with normal pancreas. For comparison, we determined the methylation status of 14 genes not known to be overexpressed in p...

MicroRNAs are involved in the initiation and progression of pancreatic cancer. In this study, we showed that miR-221/222 is overexpressed in pancreatic cancer. MiR-221/222 overexpression significantly promoted pancreatic cancer cell proliferation and invasion while inhibiting apoptosis. The expression of the matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) MMP-2 and MMP-9 was increased in miR-221/222 mimic-tra...

Pancreatic cancer is one of the leading causes of cancer death in the United States. Surgical resection of tumors is considered the only curative form of treatment and can occur only when tumors are diagnosed early. Currently, researchers are attempting to develop screening tests to detect pancreatic cancer while at an early stage. Until the tests are perfected, primary care providers need to b...

BACKGROUND Young-onset cancer is a hallmark of many familial cancer syndromes, yet the implications of young-onset disease in predicting risk of pancreatic cancer among familial pancreatic cancer (FPC) kindred members remain unclear. METHODS To understand the relationship between age at onset of pancreatic cancer and risk of pancreatic cancer in kindred members, we compared the observed incid...