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Mechanisms Underlying Metastatic Pancreatic Cancer

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Human Cell Transformation

Part of the book series: Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology ((AEMB,volume 1164))

Abstract

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma is an overwhelming fatal disease that often presents with overt metastases and ultimately causes the majority of cancer-associated deaths. The mechanisms underlying the metastatic cascade are complex, and research in recent years has begun to provide insights into the underlying drivers of this phenomenon. It has become clear that cancer cells, in particular pancreatic cancer cells, possess properties of plasticity involving bidirectional transition between epithelial and mesenchymal identities. Furthermore, recent work has begun to establish that there are distinct hybrid states between purely epithelial and purely mesenchymal states that cancer cells may reside, in order to thrive at different stages of carcinogenesis. We discuss how this plasticity is important for different phases of the metastatic cascade, from delamination to colonization, and how different epithelial–mesenchymal states may affect metastatic organotropism. In this review, we summarize the current understanding of pancreatic cancer cell plasticity and metastasis, and highlight current model systems that can be used to study these phenomena.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Gastroenterology, Department of Medicine, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA

    Jason R. Pitarresi

  2. Abramson Cancer Center, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA

    Jason R. Pitarresi

  3. Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY, USA

    Anil K. Rustgi

Authors
  1. Jason R. Pitarresi
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  2. Anil K. Rustgi
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Anil K. Rustgi .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Surgery, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, MD, USA

    Johng S. Rhim

  2. Georgetown University Medical Center, Washington, DC, USA

    Anatoly Dritschilo

  3. Department of Medicine, McGill University Health Centre, Montréal, QC, Canada

    Richard Kremer

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Pitarresi, J.R., Rustgi, A.K. (2019). Mechanisms Underlying Metastatic Pancreatic Cancer. In: Rhim, J., Dritschilo, A., Kremer, R. (eds) Human Cell Transformation. Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology, vol 1164. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-22254-3_1

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