Road Map to Defeat Pancreatic Cancer

Pancreatic cancer is a notoriously deadly disease characterized by many challenges in clinical management. Despite important advances in our understanding of pancreatic cancer progression and its underlying molecular biology over the last decades, there is a long road ahead if we aim to meaningfully improve patient outcomes in this difficult disease. Treatment options remain limited, and patient prognosis, although improving, remains bleak. As we build toward the future, we propose a framework for targeting the seven deadly hallmarks of pancreatic cancer in an effort to cure this disease. The high mortality and aggressive nature of pancreatic cancer can be largely ascribed to (a) diagnostic deficiencies, (b) chronic inflammation, (c) desmoplastic stroma, (d) early metastasis, (e) KRAS signaling, (f) metabolism, and (g) rapid deconditioning. Here, we outline the challenges presented by each of these disease hallmarks and highlight ongoing research to tackle each one.