Search

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) incidence is increasing. It is expected to become the second leading cause of cancer death by 2030 in the US and in Europe. This epidemiological trend is not fully explained by known risk factors for PDAC. PDAC is characterized by poor prognosis due to late diagnosis, high metastatic capacity and resistance to therapy. This is partially due to its specific microenvironment, where the stroma is prominent over tumor cells. Besides the oral and gut microbiota, the intratumor microbiome, i.e. the bacterial and fungal microorganisms present within the tumor, was recently introduced as a new partner of the tumor microenvironment of PDAC modulating pancreatic carcinogenesis, intratumor immune infiltrates, and response to chemotherapy. In this review, we propose an overview of current knowledge about the roles of bacteria and fungi in PDAC epidemiology, development and biology, and discuss potential clinical implications as a new source of biomarkers and therapeutic targets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Metabolic syndrome is a complex collection of interrelated conditions. Recent data have shown that metabolic syndrome may play a role in several cancers. Pancreatic adenocarcinoma is the fourth most common cause of death from cancer in the United States and the fifth in Europe. Despite the increasing numbers of published studies the etiology of pancreatic adenocarcinoma is incompletely defined. Therefore, this paper aims to evaluate the risk factors for pancreatic adenocarcinoma. Methods: This was case-control study of pancreatic adenocarcinoma patient who were referred to the Peking Union Medical College Hospital. Controls were randomly selected from an existing database of healthy individuals at the Health Screening Center Data on metabolic syndrome, pancreatic diseases, liver diseases, and a history of diabetes and history of hypertension were collected either by conducting a retrospective review of the patients' records and health examination reports or by interview. Results: A history of smoking (OR = 2.981), diabetes (OR = 2.421), cholecystolithiasis (OR = 5.453), or chronic pancreatitis (OR = 28.264) as well as the levels of fasting blood glucose (OR = 4.241), total cholesterol (OR = 1.793), and apolipoprotein A (OR = 36.065) were significantly related to pancreatic adenocarcinoma. Conclusions: Cholelithiasis, chronic pancreatitis, and certain metabolic syndrome components are potential risk factors for the development of pancreatic adenocarcinoma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]