The molecular landscape of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is predicted to become the second leading cause of cancer-related mortality within the next decade, with limited effective treatment options and a dismal long-term prognosis for patients. Surgical resection of early, localised disease provides the only chance for potentially curative treatment; however, most patients with PDAC present with advanced disease and are not suitable for surgery. Genomic analyses of PDAC tumour lesions have identified a small number of recurrent alterations that are detected across most tumours, and beyond that a large number that either occur at a low (