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Proteomic Differences and Linkages between Chemoresistance and Metastasis of Pancreatic Cancer Using Knowledge-Based Pathway Analysis

Introduction Pancreatic cancer (PC) has been recognized as one of the most life-threatening diseases because of the lack of diagnostic methods in the early stage as well as its rapid progression . Among the well-known key barriers for the effective cure of PC are chemoresistance and metastasis , which complicate therapeutic strategies. A thorough understanding of the specific cellular and molecular mechanisms of PC development and…

Proteomics in Pancreatic Cancer Translational Research

Acknowledgment This work was supported in part by the National Institutes of Health under grants K25CA137222, R21CA149772, R21CA161575, and R01CA107209, and Canary Foundation. Introduction Despite advances in our understanding of pancreatic cancer development in the past decade, the disease remains the fourth most common cause of cancer death in the United States . Unfortunately, its 5-year survival rate has not been improved significantly in the past…

Genetic Susceptibility and Risk of Pancreatic Cancer

Introduction This year in the United States, an estimated 45,220 people will be diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and 38,460 will die from the disease . Although pancreatic cancer is the 10th most commonly diagnosed cancer in the United States, it is the 4th most common cause of cancer death in both sexes . The best chance for survival is early detection when the tumor can be…

Statistical Analysis of High-Dimensional Data for Pancreatic Cancer

Acknowledgments TTW and EMC were supported by NSF grants CCF-0926194 and 0926181. HG was supported by the new faculty start-up grant from the Saint Louis University. Introduction Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is the most common type of pancreatic cancer, arising from the lesions that occur in pancreatic ducts. It is one of the leading causes of cancer deaths in the United States due to poor diagnosis…

Bioinformatics Analysis of Pancreas Cancer Genome in High-Throughput Genomic Technologies

Acknowledgements This work was partially supported by the Spanish National Bioinformatics Institute (INB) and grants BIO2012-40205, SAF2011-29530 (MINECO, Spain) and COST Action #BM1204: EU_Pancreas (European Cooperation in Science and Technology). Introduction The technology revolution by the Human Genome Project from 1986 to 2003 has propelled the field of bioinformatics into a new era, with the formidable challenge of organizing, classifying, making available, and interpreting complex genomic…

The Role of Notch Signaling Pathway in the Progression of Pancreatic Cancer

Introduction Pancreatic cancer (PC) is a highly aggressive malignancy and ranks as the fourth leading cause of cancer-related death in the United States . This high mortality is partly due to the absence of specific symptoms and signs, and the lack of early detection tests for PC, as well as the lack of effective chemotherapies . Although the molecular mechanisms of PC development remain largely unclear,…

Multimodal Therapies for Pancreatic Cancer

Introduction Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) comprises the fourth most common cause of cancer lethality in Western countries with a less than 5% reported five-year survival . General increases in the life expectancy of citizens in industrialized countries primarily lead to an elevation in reported cases of PDAC with an annual incidence rate similar to its death rate. PDAC is characterized by late diagnosis, aggressive local invasion,…

Advances in Primary Cell Culture of Pancreatic Cancer

Acknowledgments I would like to thank the following colleagues: Prof. Ugo Boggi, General and Transplants Surgery, University of Pisa, Italy; Prof. Daniela Campani, Surgical Pathology, University of Pisa, Italy; Prof. Marco Del Chiaro, General Surgery, CLINTEC Karolinska, Sweden; Prof. Irene Esposito, Surgical Pathology, Munich University, Germany; Dr Elisa Giovannetti, Cancer Center Amsterdam, VU University, Amsterdam, The Netherlands; Dr Luca Emanuele Pollina, Surgical Pathology, University of Pisa,…

Epidemiology, Treatment, and Outcome of Pancreatic Cancer

Introduction Pancreatic cancer is a relatively rare cancer type, but a major cause of cancer-related death because there are quite rare histologically proven long-time survivors of pancreatic cancer. The main reasons for the worse prognosis are: late clinical presentation, aggressive biology, and failure of surgical and systemic treatment. The aim of this introductory chapter is to provide an update on the known causes, clinical presentations, and…

Animal models of skin disease

Introduction The laboratory mouse has long been used as a biomedical tool. Over the past 50 years, the mouse has transformed into the standard model to study and compare their pathophysiology and genetics to a wide variety of human skin diseases and many others. These mouse models were found for many decades as naturally occurring (spontaneous), radiation, or chemical mutagen-induced genetic-based diseases. With the advent of…

Connective tissue tumors

Introduction Connective tissue tumors presenting primarily in the skin are relatively common. Because the majority of such lesions are benign and clinically nondistinctive they are sometimes neglected by clinicians. However, histologically they constitute a complex group of tumors showing various lines of differentiation and it can be difficult to classify a lesion as benign or malignant. Also, cutaneous or subcutaneous sarcomas, as well as various neoplasms…

Cutaneous cysts

Although a wide variety of cysts may present in the skin, usually these turn out to be epidermoid (infundibular), trichilemmal, or glandular in nature ( Table 34.1 ). It can sometimes be difficult to determine whether a structure is a true cyst, a sinus, a comedone, or an obliquely sectioned dilated hair follicle. Usually, the clinical information or further sections provide the answer, but the alternatives…

Tumors of the sweat glands

Apocrine nevus Clinical features Apocrine nevus as defined by an excess of normal apocrine glands (apocrine hamartoma, hamartomatous apocrine gland hyperplasia) is a very rare and clinically heterogeneous condition. Most often it presents with a fleshy axillary swelling. Erythematous or brown nodules on the neck, chest, and inguinal region, a plaque on the cheek, and multiple papules on the chest have also been documented. Lesions are…

Tumors and related lesions of the sebaceous glands

Ectopic sebaceous glands Clinical features Sebaceous glands are normally found in association with a hair follicle. However, at several mucosal sites, they may develop independently, presenting as small 1- to 3-mm yellow to white papules (Fordyce spots), which can be accentuated when the mucosa is stretched. Lesions of the oral cavity commonly present on the vermilion border of the lip and the buccal mucosa. On the…

Tumors of the hair follicle

Hair nevi Clinical features Localized variations of hair growth or hair follicle numbers are more easily appreciated clinically than histologically. Increased growth of terminal hairs may be seen over a spina bifida defect and also occurs in hairy congenital melanocytic nevus and Becker nevus. Hair follicle nevus Clinical features Hair follicle nevus (congenital vellus hamartoma) is an extremely rare hamartomatous lesion, which is usually evident at…

Cutaneous metastases and Paget disease of the skin

Cutaneous Metastases Secondary involvement of the integument by a malignant tumor may represent a metastatic phenomenon (such as following vascular or lymphatic emboli) or occur as a direct consequence of contiguous spread through tissue spaces or lymphatic and vascular channels ( Figs 30.1 and 30.2 ). In addition, tumor deposits may be accidentally implanted during surgical procedures. Rarely, cutaneous metastasis may be the presenting feature of…

Cutaneous lymphoproliferative diseases and related disorders

Classification of lymphomas The classification of lymphomas and hematopoietic neoplasms has undergone radical changes in philosophy and diagnostic criteria since the early days of Lukes and Collins, Rappaport, and the subsequent Updated Kiel classification and the Working Formulation. The majority of these earlier classifications relied mainly on morphology to differentiate between entities, and were designed to be applicable to nodal disease with little or no attention…

Sentinel lymph node biopsies

Introduction This chapter is based on the author's previous publications on this topic. Management of patients with primary melanoma in vertical growth phase who have no evidence of regional nodal metastases on palpation or ultrasound has been controversial for many years. Until recently, the treatment options were: observation with lymphadenectomy delayed until regional metastases became clinically evident (watch and wait), elective (prophylactic) regional lymph node dissection…

Tumors of the conjunctiva

Introduction Anatomy and histology of the conjunctiva The conjunctiva is a mucous membrane that covers the surface of the eyeball and posterior aspect of the eyelid that functions to protect the eye and allow the eyelids to move smoothly over the globe ( Fig. 27.1 ) . It is divided into four main regions: limbus, bulbar, fornix, and palpebral (tarsal) conjunctiva. The limbus ( Fig. 27.2…