Desmoplasia in Primary Tumors and Metastatic Lesions of Pancreatic Cancer

PURPOSE: Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is characterized by high levels of fibrosis, termed desmoplasia, which is thought to hamper the efficacy of therapeutics treating PDAC. Our primary focus was to evaluate differences in the extent of desmoplasia in primary tumors and metastatic lesions. As metastatic burden is a primary cause for mortality in PDAC, the extent of desmoplasia in metastases may help to determine whether desmoplasia targeting therapeutics will benefit patients with late-stage, metastatic disease. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: We sought to assess desmoplasia in metastatic lesions of PDAC and compare it with that of primary tumors. Fifty-three patients' primaries and 57 patients' metastases…

• VA
  Van Andel Research Institute