Pancreatic cancer - the past, the present, and the future.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Pancreatic cancer has been and still is associated with a very poor prognosis. This is due to a lack of major breakthroughs with respect to early diagnosis, prognostication, prediction, as well as novel, targeted therapies. The benefits of surgery and chemotherapy are evident, but the fact that only some 10% of all patients have early, localized disease highlights the unmet need for new early detection methods. An improved understanding of tumor biology and the development of molecular markers detectable both in the circulation and in cancer tissues may underlie the development of new tools for optimizing both diagnosis and treatment. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Review of the literature. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: If we do not improve precision oncology for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma, the prognosis will still remain dismal and the" burden" on society will increase substantially.