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Long-term survival for patients with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is limited, with only 5% of patients surviving 5 years. Although long-term survival statistics have not improved over the years, our understanding of the genetic anomalies underlying the disease has. Specifically, we now appreciate the role of several genetic drivers of PDAC, namely somatic mutations in the K-Ras oncogene in adulthood, and inactivation of tumor suppressor genes including Trp53 and p16Ink4a/P19Arf. While patients suffering with chronic pancreatitis are at increased risk for PDAC, a majority of patients that develop PDAC have no prior clinical history of pancreatitis. That said, recent data indicate that subacute pancreatic inflammation may underlie a majority of human PDACs. Using a transgenic mouse model of PDAC, KPC...

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