Abstract
Pancreatic ductal carcinoma still is an aggressive disease with a fatal prognosis due to late diagnosis and resistance to pharmacological and surgical treatments. Molecular investigations of pancreatic cancer are complicated by the restricted accessibility of the organ for biopsies. However, recent studies have indicated that pancreatic cancer is a multi-stage process resulting from the accumulation of genetic changes in the somatic DNA of normal cells. These molecular alterations, including overexpression of receptor-ligand systems, oncogene activation and loss of tumour suppressor genes, leads to a profound disturbance in cell cycle regulation and continuous growth. The molecular findings are now integrated in a pancreatic tumour progression model, with genetically and morphological defined precursor lesions. However, it remains unclear whether the initial target cells of this cancer develop from ductal or acinar cells. This review will present recent emerging questions on the biology of pancreatic cancer with particular emphasis on the cell origin and tumour microenvironment.
| Original language | Italian |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 87-94 |
| Number of pages | 8 |
| Journal | Minerva Medica |
| Volume | 96 |
| Issue number | 2 |
| Publication status | Published - 2005 |
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ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Medicine(all)
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Aspetti biologici del carcinoma pancreatico. / Tonel, E.; Carbone, A.; Scirelli, T.; Bellone, G.; Emanuelli, G.
In: Minerva Medica, Vol. 96, No. 2, 2005, p. 87-94.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Aspetti biologici del carcinoma pancreatico
AU - Tonel, E.
AU - Carbone, A.
AU - Scirelli, T.
AU - Bellone, G.
AU - Emanuelli, G.
PY - 2005
Y1 - 2005
N2 - Pancreatic ductal carcinoma still is an aggressive disease with a fatal prognosis due to late diagnosis and resistance to pharmacological and surgical treatments. Molecular investigations of pancreatic cancer are complicated by the restricted accessibility of the organ for biopsies. However, recent studies have indicated that pancreatic cancer is a multi-stage process resulting from the accumulation of genetic changes in the somatic DNA of normal cells. These molecular alterations, including overexpression of receptor-ligand systems, oncogene activation and loss of tumour suppressor genes, leads to a profound disturbance in cell cycle regulation and continuous growth. The molecular findings are now integrated in a pancreatic tumour progression model, with genetically and morphological defined precursor lesions. However, it remains unclear whether the initial target cells of this cancer develop from ductal or acinar cells. This review will present recent emerging questions on the biology of pancreatic cancer with particular emphasis on the cell origin and tumour microenvironment.
AB - Pancreatic ductal carcinoma still is an aggressive disease with a fatal prognosis due to late diagnosis and resistance to pharmacological and surgical treatments. Molecular investigations of pancreatic cancer are complicated by the restricted accessibility of the organ for biopsies. However, recent studies have indicated that pancreatic cancer is a multi-stage process resulting from the accumulation of genetic changes in the somatic DNA of normal cells. These molecular alterations, including overexpression of receptor-ligand systems, oncogene activation and loss of tumour suppressor genes, leads to a profound disturbance in cell cycle regulation and continuous growth. The molecular findings are now integrated in a pancreatic tumour progression model, with genetically and morphological defined precursor lesions. However, it remains unclear whether the initial target cells of this cancer develop from ductal or acinar cells. This review will present recent emerging questions on the biology of pancreatic cancer with particular emphasis on the cell origin and tumour microenvironment.
KW - Molecular genetics
KW - Pancreatic neoplasms
KW - Stem cells
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=33745343696&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=33745343696&partnerID=8YFLogxK
M3 - Articolo
VL - 96
SP - 87
EP - 94
JO - Minerva Medicolegale e Archivio di Antropologia Criminale
JF - Minerva Medicolegale e Archivio di Antropologia Criminale
SN - 0026-4806
IS - 2
ER -