Molecular technology and pancreatic cancer

Background: Pancreatic cancer is the fifth leading cause of cancer death in the Western world. Despite improvement in operative mortality rates, littl e impact has been made on overall 5-year survival. This review discusses th e molecular changes peculiar to pancreatic cancer and how the use of molecu lar technology might affect detection, screening, diagnosis and treatment o f the disease. Methods: A literature review was performed using the National Library of Me dicine's Pubmed database; this was combined with ongoing work within the Qu een Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham. Results: Over the past 20 years great strides have been made in our underst anding of the molecular basis of disease. Advances in molecular biology are non reshaping how diseases are screened for, diagnosed, investigated and t reated. In recent years collaboration between clinicians and basic scientis ts has revealed a unique pattern of genetic and molecular events in pancrea tic cancer. This review discusses how these advances may impact on patients with this disease. Conclusion: The past decade has seen some improvement in outlook for patien ts with pancreatic cancer, but the 'molecular age' promises to deliver even better results.