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Biomedicines
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Pancreatic Cancer: Pathomechanism, Diagnostics and Novel Treatment Options
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Pancreatic Cancer: Pathomechanism, Diagnostics and Novel Treatment Options

A special issue of Biomedicines (ISSN 2227-9059). This special issue belongs to the section "Cancer Biology and Oncology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 September 2024) | Viewed by 5344

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Konstantinos Dimas

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Guest Editor
Department of Pharmacology, School of Medicine, School of Health Sciences, University of Thessaly, Larisa, Greece
Interests: cancer; natural products; small molecules; drug discovery and development
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Dimitrios E. Magouliotis

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Guest Editor
Department of Cardiac Surgery Research, Lankenau Institute for Medical Research, Wynnewood, PA 19096, USA
Interests: cardio-thoracic surgery; surgical oncology; bariatric surgery
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Pancreatic cancer (PC) represents one of the leading causes of cancer-related death, the fourth cause of cancer-related mortality in the US, and is associated with poor prognosis. Despite the great research efforts, the PC-associated mortality continues to increase, and it is projected that by 2030 it will represent the second cancer-related cause of mortality. Furthermore, PC is characterized by high clonal heterogeneity, and resistance to chemotherapy and radiotherapy. In addition, it is commonly diagnosed at an advanced stage, when treatment options are limited. Consequently, it is critical to find new diagnostic tools and therapeutic strategies that can be more efficient and accurate. In this context, we call all surgeons, physicians, and professionals from all the associated disciplines involved in the diagnostic and curative research and pathway of patients with PC (basic and translational science researchers, oncologists, surgeons, anesthesiologists, radiologists, intensivists, oncologists, nurses, nutritionists, etc.) to contribute to this Special Issue. Our vision is to provide the best currently available evidence on this important topic, providing all the necessary information to researchers and clinicians on core concepts at the forefront of PC research.

Prof. Dr. Konstantinos Dimas
Dr. Dimitrios E. Magouliotis
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Biomedicines is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • pancreatic cancer
  • chemotherapy
  • radiotherapy
  • immunotherapy
  • research
  • biomarkers
  • novel treatment
  • precision medicine

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Related Special Issue

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

14 pages, 3323 KiB  
Article
Cell-Free Tumor DNA Detection-Based Liquid Biopsy of Plasma and Bile in Patients with Various Pancreatic Neoplasms
by Mark Jain, David Atayan, Tagir Rakhmatullin, Tatyana Dakhtler, Pavel Popov, Pavel Kim, Mikhail Viborniy, Iuliia Gontareva, Larisa Samokhodskaya and Vyacheslav Egorov
Biomedicines 2024, 12(1), 220; https://doi.org/10.3390/biomedicines12010220 - 18 Jan 2024
Viewed by 2172
Abstract
The key challenge of cell-free tumor DNA (cftDNA) analysis in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is overcoming its low detection rate, which is mainly explained by the overall scarcity of this biomarker in plasma. Obstructive jaundice is a frequent event in PDAC, which enables [...] Read more.
The key challenge of cell-free tumor DNA (cftDNA) analysis in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is overcoming its low detection rate, which is mainly explained by the overall scarcity of this biomarker in plasma. Obstructive jaundice is a frequent event in PDAC, which enables bile collection as a part of routine treatment. The aim of this study was to evaluate the performance of KRAS-mutated cftDNA detection-based liquid biopsy of plasma and bile in patients with pancreatic neoplasms using digital droplet PCR. The study included healthy volunteers (n = 38), patients with PDAC (n = 95, of which 20 had obstructive jaundice) and other pancreatic neoplasms (OPN) (n = 18). The sensitivity and specificity compared to the control group were 61% and 100% (AUC-ROC—0.805), and compared to the OPN group, they were 61% and 94% (AUC-ROC—0.794), respectively. Bile exhibited higher cftDNA levels than plasma (248.6 [6.743; 1068] vs. 3.26 [0; 19.225] copies/mL) and a two-fold higher detection rate (p < 0.01). Plasma cftDNA levels were associated with distant metastases, tumor size, and CA 19-9 (p < 0.05). The probability of survival was worse in patients with higher levels of cftDNA in plasma (hazard ratio—2.4; 95% CI: 1.3–4.6; p = 0.005) but not in bile (p > 0.05). Bile is a promising alternative to plasma in patients with obstructive jaundice, at least for the diagnostic purposes of liquid biopsy. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Pancreatic Cancer: Pathomechanism, Diagnostics and Novel Treatment Options)
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11 pages, 1098 KiB  
Article
Association between SMAD4 Mutations and GATA6 Expression in Paired Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma Tumor Specimens: Data from Two Independent Molecularly-Characterized Cohorts
by Joshua D. Greendyk, William E. Allen, H. Richard Alexander, Toni Beninato, Mariam F. Eskander, Miral S. Grandhi, Timothy J. Kennedy, Russell C. Langan, Jason C. Maggi, Subhajyoti De, Colin M. Court and Brett L. Ecker
Biomedicines 2023, 11(11), 3058; https://doi.org/10.3390/biomedicines11113058 - 15 Nov 2023
Viewed by 1293
Abstract
Several molecular biomarkers have been identified to guide induction treatment selection for localized pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). SMAD4 alterations and low GATA6 expression/modified “Moffitt” basal-like phenotype have each been associated with inferior survival uniquely for patients receiving 5-FU-based therapies. SMAD4 may directly regulate [...] Read more.
Several molecular biomarkers have been identified to guide induction treatment selection for localized pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). SMAD4 alterations and low GATA6 expression/modified “Moffitt” basal-like phenotype have each been associated with inferior survival uniquely for patients receiving 5-FU-based therapies. SMAD4 may directly regulate the expression of GATA6 in PDAC, pointing to a common predictive biomarker. To evaluate the relationship between SMAD4 mutations and GATA6 expression in human PDAC tumors, patients with paired SMAD4 mutation and GATA6 mRNA expression data in the TCGA and CPTAC were identified. In 321 patients (TCGA: n = 180; CPTAC: n = 141), the rate of SMAD4 alterations was 26.8%. The rate of SMAD4 alteration did not vary per tertile of normalized GATA6 expression (TCGA: p = 0.928; CPTAC: p = 0.828). In the TCGA, SMAD4 alterations and the basal-like phenotype were each associated with worse survival (log rank p = 0.077 and p = 0.080, respectively), but their combined presence did not identify a subset with uniquely inferior survival (p = 0.943). In the CPTAC, the basal-like phenotype was associated with significantly worse survival (p < 0.001), but the prognostic value was not influenced by the combined presence of SMAD4 alterations (p = 0.960). SMAD4 alterations were not associated with poor clinico-pathological features such as poor tumor grade, advanced tumor stage, positive lymphovascular invasion (LVI), or positive perineural invasion (PNI), compared with SMAD4-wildtype. Given that SMAD4 mutations were not associated with GATA6 expression or Moffitt subtype in two independent molecularly characterized PDAC cohorts, distinct biomarker-defined clinical trials are necessary. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Pancreatic Cancer: Pathomechanism, Diagnostics and Novel Treatment Options)
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11 pages, 1267 KiB  
Article
Survival Benefit after Shifting from Upfront Surgery to Neoadjuvant Treatment in Borderline Resectable Pancreatic Cancer
by Hyun Jeong Jeon, Soo Yeun Lim, HyeJeong Jeong, So Jeong Yoon, Hongbeom Kim, Sang Hyun Shin, Jin Seok Heo and In Woong Han
Biomedicines 2023, 11(8), 2302; https://doi.org/10.3390/biomedicines11082302 - 18 Aug 2023
Viewed by 1298
Abstract
According to the 2016 National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) guidelines, patients with borderline resectable pancreatic cancer (BRPC) should receive chemotherapy as the first-line treatment. This study examined the real-world survival benefits of modifying BRPC treatment guidelines. Patients treated for BRPC at a single [...] Read more.
According to the 2016 National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) guidelines, patients with borderline resectable pancreatic cancer (BRPC) should receive chemotherapy as the first-line treatment. This study examined the real-world survival benefits of modifying BRPC treatment guidelines. Patients treated for BRPC at a single institution from 2013 to 2015 (pre-guideline group) and 2017 to 2019 (post-guideline group) were retrospectively reviewed. According to the treatment method used, patients were classified into upfront surgery (US), surgery after neoadjuvant treatment (NAT), and chemotherapy only (CO) groups. Overall survival (OS) was compared according to period and treatment type. Factors associated with OS were analyzed using a Cox regression model. Among the 165 patients, 63 were in the pre-guideline group and 102 patients were in the post-guideline group. The median OS was significantly improved in the post-guideline group compared to the pre-guideline group (29 vs. 13 months, p < 0.001). According to the treatment method, the median OS of the NAT group was significantly longer than that of the US and CO groups (40 vs. 16 vs. 15 months, respectively, p < 0.001). In multivariate analysis, tumor size, differentiation, NAT, and perineural invasion were significant prognostic factors. NAT is an important treatment option for BRPC and increased patient survival in the real world. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Pancreatic Cancer: Pathomechanism, Diagnostics and Novel Treatment Options)
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