Infiltrating ductal adenocarcinoma of the pancreas, referred to here as “pancreatic cancer,” is one of the deadliest of all of the solid malignancies. The five-year survival rate in the United States for individuals diagnosed today with pancreatic cancer is a dismal 12%. Many invasive cancers, including pancreatic cancer, however, arise from histologically and genetically well-characterized precursor lesions, and these precancers are curable. Precursor lesions therefore are an attractive target for early detection and treatment. This is particularly true for individuals with an increased risk of developing invasive cancer, such as individuals with a strong family history of pancreatic cancer, and individuals with a germline variant known to increase the risk of developing pancreatic cancer. There is therefore a need to understand the precursor lesions that can give rise to invasive pancreatic cancer in these individuals.

胰腺浸润性导管腺癌，这里称为“胰腺癌”，是所有实体恶性肿瘤中最致命的一种。在美国，今天诊断出的胰腺癌患者的五年生存率仅为 12%，令人沮丧。然而，许多侵袭性癌症，包括胰腺癌，都是由组织学和遗传学上明确表征的癌前病变引起的，并且这些癌前病变是可以治愈的。因此，前驱病变是早期检测和治疗的一个有吸引力的目标。对于患侵袭性癌症风险增加的个体尤其如此，例如具有强烈胰腺癌家族史的个体，以及具有已知会增加患胰腺癌风险的种系变异的个体。因此，有必要了解可能在这些个体中引起侵袭性胰腺癌的前驱病变。