Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma Invasiveness and the Tumor Microenvironment: From Biology to Clinical Trials

Isabel Mejia; Sandhya Bodapati; Kathryn T Chen; Begoña Díaz

doi:10.3390/biomedicines8100401

Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma Invasiveness and the Tumor Microenvironment: From Biology to Clinical Trials

Biomedicines. 2020 Oct 9;8(10):401. doi: 10.3390/biomedicines8100401.

Authors

Isabel Mejia¹, Sandhya Bodapati², Kathryn T Chen³, Begoña Díaz^{1

4

5}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Medicine, Division of Medical Hematology Oncology, The Lundquist Institute for Biomedical Innovation at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, Torrance, CA 90502, USA.
² College of Osteopathic Medicine, Pacific Western University of Health Sciences, Pomona, CA 91766, USA.
³ Department of Surgery, Division of Surgical Oncology, Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, Torrance, CA 90502, USA.
⁴ David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California at Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA.
⁵ Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of California at Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA.

Abstract

Pancreatic adenocarcinoma (PDAC) originates in the glandular compartment of the exocrine pancreas. Histologically, PDAC tumors are characterized by a parenchyma that is embedded in a particularly prominent stromal component or desmoplastic stroma. The unique characteristics of the desmoplastic stroma shape the microenvironment of PDAC and modulate the reciprocal interactions between cancer and stromal cells in ways that have profound effects in the pathophysiology and treatment of this disease. Here, we review some of the most recent findings regarding the regulation of PDAC cell invasion by the unique microenvironment of this tumor, and how new knowledge is being translated into novel therapeutic approaches.

Keywords: PDAC; cancer vaccine; cell invasion; clinical trial; invadopodia; tumor microenvironment; tumor stroma.

Publication types

Review