Inflammation and development of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma

Inflammation plays pivotal roles in the development of pancreatic cancer, from initiation, progression to metastasis. In humans, many known risk factors for pancreatic cancer, including alcohol consumption, cigarette smoking, diabetes and chronic pancreatitis, are often characterized by the induction of chronic inflammation. In mice, while oncogenic Kras itself causes spontaneous infiltration of immune cells, the additional chronic inflammatory damage further accelerates the progression of pancreatic cancer. Infiltrated immune cells in pancreatic cancer are essential for the initiation and development of pancreatic cancer, and produce immune-suppressive signals to dampen antitumor T-cell responses in tumor. Investigation into the mechanisms by which leukocytes contribute to the development of pancreatic cancer will help to find new approaches to improve therapy for this disease.