Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma is the fi fth leading cause of cancer death in the USA.
Approximately 44,000 Americans were diagnosed with the disease in the past year. While
the annual incidence for pancreatic cancer has been on an upswing trajectory for the past
two decades, the 5-year survival rate has remained fl at during the same period. Virtually all
of the patients will die from it within 5 years. The pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma is
unique because its late onset in age, high mortality, small tumor samples in fi ltrated with
normal cells (high desmoplasia), and a lack of early detection and effective therapies. Some
of these characteristics have made studying this disease a challenge.