[Metastasis of pancreatic tumors]

With a 5-year survival rate that has remained stagnant at 6 % for decades, pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is still one of the most fatal malignancies. Despite intensive research, currently available therapy options are less than adequate. As more than half of the patients already show distant metastases at the time of diagnosis, metastatic disease should be a primary focus in the development of new therapeutic strategies. New findings from basic research provide various interesting approaches: molecular profiling of the primary tumor seems to be a possible method to gain knowledge about the prognosis, metastatic potential and therapy response of each individual case of PDAC. Certain subpopulations of cancer stem cells also seem to be of importance in metastasis of PDAC and could become potential therapeutic targets in the future. Interactions between tumor cells and their microenvironment are another crucial factor in the metastasis of pancreatic cancer and present various new starting points for potential therapies. As the number of cell types and signaling pathways that are found to play a role in PDAC metastasis continue to grow, the next big challenge will be to translate these findings into viable clinical applications.