Affiliations: [a] Division of Digestive Diseases, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA | [b] Department of Radiation Oncology, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA
Correspondence:
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Corresponding author: James J Farrell, M.D., UCLA School of Medicine, Division of Digestive Diseases, UCLA Center for the Health Science, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA. Tel.: +1 310 267 4664; Fax: +1 310 794 1896; E-mail: jfarrell@mednet.ucla.edu.
Abstract: The role of early detection in cancer has shown improved survival for certain cancers, including colon cancer, cervical cancer and breast cancer. The possibility for early detection of pancreatic cancer may be realized by an improved understanding of the histology and molecular genetics of precursor lesions and cancerous lesions in pancreatic cancer and the development of sensitive and specific screening tests (both invasive and non-invasive) to detect early pancreatic cancer. The NIH-NCI Early Detection Research Network (EDRN) in Pancreatic Cancer has been focussed on the development and validation of new biomarkers for the detection of early pancreatic cancer. This review will focus on our understanding of the histologic and molecular model of pancreatic carcinogenesis, current strategies and limitations of screening for pancreatic cancer and the development and validation of new biomarkers for the early detection of pancreatic cancer.
Keywords: pancreatic Cancer, early detection, biomarkers, pancreatic intraepithelial neoplasia
