Factors Contributing to Pancreatic Cancer Development and Aggressiveness

Pancreatic cancer is a lethal disease with a high mortality rate that is responsible for over 200,000 deaths globally each year. By 2040, pancreatic cancer is expected to be the second leading cause of cancer death in the USA. Most patients with pancreatic cancer remain asymptomatic until the disease reaches advanced stages, leading to a grim prognosis and a 5-year survival rate of less than 5%. There is no standard screening protocol for patients who may be considered as ‘high risk’ for developing pancreatic cancer (e.g., due to a family history of the disease, diabetes mellitus, or chronic pancreatitis), with the origins of the disease remaining unknown.The origins of pancreatic cancer together with disease pathogenesis and contributors to disease aggressiveness are not fully understood. There is a critical need to better elucidate the pathogenesis of pancreatic cancer as well as factors contributing to its development and aggressiveness. Insight into these processes at a molecular level may reveal potential markers for future drug targeting for improved treatment regimens and optimized patient outcomes.We welcome submissions, including original research articles and comprehensive reviews, that advance mechanistic and translational understanding of pancreatic cancer initiation, progression, and aggressiveness. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:• Cell(s) of origin and early tumorigenesis, including pancreatic epithelial lineage plasticity and precursor lesions (e.g., PanIN/IPMN)• Molecular mechanisms of disease initiation and progression, including key oncogenic pathways and regulatory networks driving malignancy• Determinants of tumor aggressiveness, such as invasion, metastasis, therapy resistance, recurrence, and disease heterogeneity• Cancer genomics and multi-omics profiling, including DNA/RNA sequencing, epigenomics, single-cell/spatial approaches, proteomics, metabolomics, and lipidomics• Tumor microenvironment and immune contexture, including stromal interactions, fibrosis/desmoplasia, inflammation, and immune evasion• Biomarker discovery and validation for early detection, risk stratification (e.g., high-risk populations), prognosis, and treatment response monitoring (tissue- and liquid biopsy-based)• Molecular subtypes and precision oncology approaches, including clinically actionable targets and patient stratification strategies• Bench-to-bedside and clinically oriented translational studies, including preclinical models, functional validation of candidate drivers/targets, and evaluation of novel therapeutic strategies• Methodological and technical advances that enable improved detection, profiling, or mechanistic interrogation of pancreatic cancer development and aggressivenessPlease note: Manuscripts consisting solely of bioinformatics, computational analysis, or predictions of public databases which are not accompanied by validation (independent clinical or patient cohort, or biological validation in vitro or in vivo, which are not based on public databases) are not suitable for publication in this journal. Topic editors: Amichay Meirovitz, Zhiwei He, Tiago De Oliveira Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/78624/factors-contributing-to-pancreatic-cancer-development-and-aggressiveness