This book was written to summarize the midterm meeting of the concerted action BMH4-CT98-3085 funded by the European Union in the context of the BIOMEDII programme. The objective of this concerted action (CA) is to generate a European network allowing to share expertise, technologies and resources to speed up the process of characterization of potential new disease genes in pancreatic cancer. The meeting in Barcelona in November 1999 was hosted by the group at the IMIM led by F.X. Real, and was scheduled to allow a midterm evaluation of the individual projects.

A distinguished panel of world authorities reviews the current state of today's understanding, diagnosis, and treatment of pancreatic cancer. Their cutting-edge reviews discuss both medical and surgical modalities and include numerous insights into the basic molecular processes underlying the disease. Among the key topics covered are the prospects for early diagnosis using molecular techniques, the latest diagnostic and therapeutic methods, the role of laparoscopy (diagnostic and therapeutic), and nonsurgical treatment. The reviewers also address the future possibilities for clinical advances, quality of life concerns, and the value of the Japanese "extended Whipple resection." Pancreatic Cancer will become the new standard reference for all clinicians who diagnose and treat this disease, as well as for basic scientists needing a summary of the many recent advances. i

Dx/Rx: Pancreatic Cancer was recently honored with 4 Stars from Doody's Book Review! Written by two expert oncologists specializing in pancreatic cancer, Dx/Rx: Pancreatic Cancer is a concise pocket reference for all professional caregivers of patients with pancreatic cancer. This handy guide provides comprehensive, up-to-date information on the epidemiology, symptoms, diagnosis, and management of malignancies of the pancreas. Topics include detailed outline of the diagnosis process and staging, molecular pathogenesis, localized diseases and advanced cases, metastatic pancreatic cancer, uncommon pancreatic malignancies, and information on supportive care. Presented in a quick-reference format, Dx/Rx: Pancreatic Cancer is an essential guide for on the ward or in the clinic.

Gastrointestinal (GI) malignancies account for a large portion of cancers worldwide. Although incidence of esophageal, gastric, and colorectal cancers has decreased in recent years, pancreatic and liver cancer have increased. The mainstay of GI cancer therapy is chemoradiation and surgery. Despite significant medical advancements, diagnosis and therapy for GI cancers remain challenging due to tumor cell resistance to chemoradiotherapy. The tumor’s increased cell signalling due to excessive transcription factor activation and increased stellate cell activity leads to collagen deposition formation of a dense stroma around the tumor, which prevents drugs from reaching the malignant cells. This leads to tumor chemoresistance. To circumvent these difficulties, drug therapy targeting the tumor’s specific microenvironment and the additive anticancer effect of phytochemicals can allow for more effective treatment. This volume will be the first on the market on the topic of phytochemicals and their effect on the tumor microenvironment (TME). TME is an emerging area of research and the book will be a welcome introductory addition to the field.

The MD Anderson Solid Tumor Oncology series presents cutting-edge surgical treatment and medical therapy for specific sites. This volume, Pancreatic Cancer, addresses epidemiology and molecular biology, inherited syndromes, staging, surgical techniques, multimodality therapy, and emerging therapies. The individual chapters focus on narrow, specific topics to produce a reference work of value to those interested in pancreatic cancer from a clinical and translational research perspective. A must-have for surgical oncologists and general surgeons.

Since the third edition of Tumors of Domestic Animals there has been an enormous expansion of our knowledge about the melocular mechanisms of tumor development and the ancillary aids used diagnose neoplasms . The fourth edition condenses this new body of information and presents it in a way that is useful to diagnostic pathologists, residents, veterinarians, and oncologists. The format of the previous editions has been maintained, but the text and the illustrations are substantially changed or entirely different. Readers will be able to find salient clinical information, prevalence data, biological behavior, and most importantly, accurate information about gross and microscopic lesions to help diagnostic pathologists establish an accurate morphological diagnosis. The editor and authors of Tumors of Domestic Animals,all recognized experts in their fields, recognize the need for accurate morpological diagnoses in veterinary patient care, particularly with the numerous treatment modalities now available to oncologists and owners. This landmark reference in veterinary pathology provides the applicable information that clinical veterinarians need and want to make decisions about treatment of the animals in their care.

Genetic alterations in cancer, in addition to being the fundamental drivers of tumorigenesis, can give rise to a variety of metabolic adaptations that allow cancer cells to survive and proliferate in diverse tumor microenvironments. This metabolic flexibility is different from normal cellular metabolic processes and leads to heterogeneity in cancer metabolism within the same cancer type or even within the same tumor. In this book, we delve into the complexity and diversity of cancer metabolism, and highlight how understanding the heterogeneity of cancer metabolism is fundamental to the development of effective metabolism-based therapeutic strategies. Deciphering how cancer cells utilize various nutrient resources will enable clinicians and researchers to pair specific chemotherapeutic agents with patients who are most likely to respond with positive outcomes, allowing for more cost-effective and personalized cancer therapeutic strategies.

Pancreatic cancer is a formidable disease, and advances in early detection and improved therapeutics have been slow to come forth. With new advances in molecular genetics in the field of pancreatic tumorigenesis, it is an opportune time to use these recent discoveries to enhance our understanding of pancreatic cancer biology and to improve outcomes in patients. In this volume, leading experts in the field shed light on these findings describing the mutational landscape of pancreatic cancer, including new inroads into our understanding of familial pancreatic cancer, epidemiology, the biology of K-ras signaling, and the emerging contribution of epigenetic alterations to disease initiation and progression. The distinctive pancreatic cancer-stroma ecosystem as determined by the dynamic interplay of inflammation, hallmark mutations, EMT, and cancer stem cells is described, and implications of these interactions in the context of development of novel, personalized therapeutic options are explored.

Theranostic Approach for Pancreatic Cancer modulates the biologic properties of stroma in pancreatic cancer by targeting the several chemotherapy resistance mechanisms to impede their malignant property through introducing new strategies and drugs for tackling the disease. It brings information about ongoing research as well as clinical data about pancreatic cancer and provides detailed descriptions about diagnostic and therapeutic options for easy understanding. This book discusses several topics related to pancreatic cancer such as stem cells, drug resistance and pancreatic tumor microenvironment, the latest developments in chemotherapy for metastatic cancer and chemoprevention, and epigenome as a therapeutic strategy. Additionally, it encompasses a discussion on theranostic clinical applications for personalized treatment and management of pancreatic cancer. The book is a valuable resource for cancer researchers, oncologists, and several members of the biomedical field who need to understand more about the diagnosis and treatment of pancreatic cancer. Provides information on the roadblocks of chemotherapy in patients with newly diagnosed and metastatic pancreatic cancer Discusses treatment options available currently as well as prospective options for the future Focuses especially on stroma, tumor microenvironment, stem cells, stellate cells, transcription factors, growth factors, and important signaling pathways as already tested types of treatment

Pancreatic Cancer: Basic Mechanisms and Therapies, Volume 159 in the Advances in Cancer Research, presents the latest release in this ongoing, well-regarded serial with invaluable information on the exciting and fast-moving field of cancer research. Pancreatic cancer (PC) is the third leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the United States. Greater than 90% PCs are Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinomas (PDAC) which have a dismal estimated 5-year overall survival of only 11%. PDAC is predicted to become the second leading cause of mortality in the United States by 2030. In the clinic, the PDAC patients often present with incurable disease at the time of first diagnosis. This cancer is particularly lethal because of its propensity to spread quickly to distant organs including the lymphatic system. PDAC metastasis occurs shortly after tumor initiation and is caused by a complex interaction between autonomous tumor cells and cellular elements of the tumor microenvironment. Although PDAC remains a challenging disease to treat and a leading cause of cancer-related deaths, progress is being made in disease etiology and pathogenesis, and intensive research is focused on developing optimal treatment approaches for patients. Considering the continuous progress being made in understanding PDAC pathogenesis and designing new therapies, it was considered timely to develop an up-to-date thematic issue of Advances in Cancer Research (ACR) focused on PDAC. In this thematic issue, we have included ten review articles by experts that cover cancer disparities, PDAC pathobiology, the roles of the tumor microenvironment, tumor heterogeneity, PC stem cells, genetic and signaling events critical for PDAC pathogenesis, Immunotherapy and chemoresistance in PDAC, and different PDAC mouse models. This special issue highlights recent research progress in PDAC, which bridges the gap between basic and clinical research. - The recent overview of Racial Disparities in Pancreatic Cancer Clinical Trials; Overview the evolution of in vivo models for PDAC - Up-to-date discussion of diverse genetic and molecular signaling changes in PDAC; Role of tumor heterogeneity in therapy resistance in PDAC; Chemoresistance in PDAC and how to overcome this challenge; Current and emerging approaches and strategies for advancing targeted therapy and immunotherapy for PDAC - New insights into the role of epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition, tumor microenvironment (TME) and interactions of TME with cancer stem cells in PDAC pathogenesis, progression and therapeutic resistance