title: Early detection of pancreatic cancer: Where are we now and where are we going?
abstract: Pancreatic cancer (PC) is one of the most lethal malignancies. Recent studies indicate that patients with incidentally diagnosed PC have better prognosis than those with symptoms and that there is a sufficient window for early detection. However, effective early diagnosis remains difficult and depends mainly on imaging modalities and the development of screening methodologies with highly sensitive and specific biomarkers. This review summarizes recent advances in effective screening for early diagnosis of PC using imaging modalities and novel molecular biomarkers discovered from various "omics" studies including genomics, epigenomics, non-coding RNA, metabonomics, liquid biopsy (CTC, ctDNA and exosomes) and microbiomes, and their use in body fluids (feces, urine and saliva). Although many biomarkers for early detection of PC have been discovered through various methods, larger scale and rigorous validation is required before their application in the clinic. In addition, more effective and specific biomarkers of PC are urgently needed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Hepatopancreatobiliary Surgery, the Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University, Qingdao, Shandong Province, 266003, China.
authors.forename: Bin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: Department of General Surgery, Qilu hospital, Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong Province, 250012, China.
authors.forename: Jian-Wei
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: Department of General Surgery, Qilu hospital, Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong Province, 250012, China.
authors.forename: Yu-Gang
authors.initials: YG
authors.lastname: Cheng
authors.affiliation: Department of Basic Medicine, Medical College of Shandong University, Jinan, 250012, China.
authors.forename: Jing-Yue
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.affiliation: Department of General Surgery, Qilu hospital, Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong Province, 250012, China.
authors.forename: San-Yuan
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.affiliation: Department of General Surgery, Qilu hospital, Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong Province, 250012, China.
authors.forename: Lei
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of General Surgery, Qilu hospital, Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong Province, 250012, China.
authors.forename: Han-Xiang
authors.identifier: 0000-0001-5489-1142
authors.initials: HX
authors.lastname: Zhan
mesh_terms: D003952:Diagnostic Imaging; D055088:Early Detection of Cancer / Q000379:methods*; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease; D023281:Genomics / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D064307:Microbiota; D010190:Pancreatic Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000382:microbiology; D011379:Prognosis; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity
keywords: biomarker; body fluid; early diagnosis; liquid biopsy; pancreatic cancer