EDITORIAL Serum Tumor Markers for Pancreatic Cancer: The Dawn of New Era?

Pancreatic cancer accounts for only 3 % of all cancers, but it is the fifth leading cause of cancer death in both Western countries [1] and Japan [2]. The prognosis of patients with this disease is extremely poor with less than 5 % of patients alive 5 years after diagnosis. Of all the treatment modalities for pancreatic cancer, only resection offers the opportunity for a cure. However, at the time of diagnosis, approximately half of the patients already have metastases and approximately one third of patients are diagnosed as having locally advanced disease, whereas only a small proportion of patients are eligible for surgery. Most symptoms related to this malignanc