Pancreatic cancer : a developmental quest

Pancreatic cancer is considered the fifth leading cause of cancer deaths in Canada and one of the most fatal diseases in the world. Its definite underlying cause is still unidentified, and its actual cell of origin remains unclear. Unfortunately, most of the current research on the pancreas is focused on one disease only, namely diabetes with much less consideration for other pancreatic diseases. Diabetes has been extensively studied from a developmental aspect, and continues to attract the interest of numerous researchers. On the contrary, few accomplishments have been done to decode the developmental errors occurring in pancreatic cancer. It is therefore necessary to allocate more research resources to address this disease from a developmental aspect.This study provides a literature review of the pancreas concerning its anatomy and function, transcription factors and signaling pathways controlling its development, and the role of these signaling pathways in pancreatic cancer. The review provides distinct emphasis on three important aspects. First, a review of pancreas development is provided, with a focus on different transcription factors and signaling pathways involved in this process. Second, it addresses how the signaling pathways which play a role in pancreas development are the same signaling pathways that play a role in pancreatic cancer, additional emphasis is placed on describing the genetic alterations occurring in pancreatic cancer. Third, a methodology of approaching pancreatic cancer research from a developmental aspect is presented. Using an example of one gene, Anterior gradient 2 (Agr2), is highly expressed in pancreatic cancer in ductal cells only, and might play a role in ductal cell development of the pancreas. Thus, the main objective of this review is to provide a developmental framework for the analysis of pancreatic cancer