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Pancreatic cancer: diagnosis and treatments

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Tumor Biology

Abstract

Pancreatic cancer is one of the deadliest cancers, with exceptionally high mortality. Despite the relatively low incidence rate (10th), it is the fourth leading cause of cancer-related deaths in most developed countries. To improve the early diagnosis of pancreatic cancer and strengthen the standardized comprehensive treatment are still the main focus of pancreatic cancer research. Here, we summarized the rapid developments in the diagnosis and treatments of pancreatic cancer. Regarding diagnosis, we reviewed advances in medical imaging technology, tumor markers, molecular biology (e.g., gene mutation), and proteomics. Moreover, great progress has also been made in the treatments of this disease, including surgical resection, chemotherapy, targeted radiotherapy, targeted minimally invasive treatment, and molecular targeted therapy. Therefore, we also recapitulated the development, advantages, and disadvantages of each of the treatment methods in this review.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported in part by the Liaoning Province Natural Science Foundation of China (2014020059) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant no: 81071982).

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    Authors and Affiliations

    1. Department of Gastroenterology, The General Hospital of Shenyang Military Command, Shenyang, 110840, Liaoning Province, China

      Hong-Yu Li, Zhong-Min Cui, Jiang Chen & Xiao-Zhong Guo

    2. Cancer Research Institute, Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center, Department of Oncology, Shanghai Medical College, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200032, China

      Ying-Yi Li

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    Correspondence to Xiao-Zhong Guo or Ying-Yi Li.

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    Hong-Yu Li and Zhong-Min Cui contributed equally to this work.

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    Li, HY., Cui, ZM., Chen, J. et al. Pancreatic cancer: diagnosis and treatments. Tumor Biol. 36, 1375–1384 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13277-015-3223-7

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