Published online Oct 15, 2015. doi: 10.4251/wjgo.v7.i10.250
Peer-review started: May 8, 2015
First decision: July 17, 2015
Revised: July 28, 2015
Accepted: September 10, 2015
Article in press: September 16, 2015
Published online: October 15, 2015
Processing time: 171 Days and 0.3 Hours
Pancreatic cancer is a highly lethal cancer type, for which there are few viable therapeutic options. But, with the advance of sequencing technologies for global genomic analysis, the landscape of genomic alterations in pancreatic cancer is becoming increasingly well understood. In this review, we summarize current knowledge of genomic alterations in 12 core signaling pathways or cellular processes in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma, which is the most common type of malignancy in the pancreas, including four commonly mutated genes and many other genes that are mutated at low frequencies. We also describe the potential implications of these genomic alterations for development of novel therapeutic approaches in the context of personalized medicine.
Core tip: With the advance of sequencing technologies for global genomic analysis, the landscape of genomic alterations in pancreatic cancer is becoming increasingly well understood. In this review, we summarize the latest knowledge of genomic alterations in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma including commonly mutated genes and many other genes that are mutated at low frequencies. We also describe the potential implications of these genomic alterations for development of novel therapeutic approaches in the context of personalized medicine.