Statements in which the resource exists as a subject.
PredicateObject
rdf:type
lifeskim:mentions
pubmed:issue
1
pubmed:dateCreated
2001-1-16
pubmed:abstractText
Pancreatic cancer has an incidence of approximately 8 to 10 cases per 100,000 citizens in Western industrialized countries, and the incidence has been increasing throughout the last decades. Insensitivity to antigrowth and apoptotic signals as well as self-sufficiency in growth signals are hallmarks of malignant growth. Pancreatic cancers often exhibit alterations in growth inhibitory pathways such as Smad4 mutations and Smad6 and Smad7 overexpression, and evade apoptosis through p53 mutations and aberrant expression of apoptosis regulating genes. In addition, in pancreatic cancer a variety of growth factors are expressed at increased levels. For example, the concomitant presence of the EGF-receptor and its ligands EGF, TGF-alpha, and/or amphiregulin is associated with enhanced tumor aggressiveness and shorter survival periods following tumor resection. Furthermore, a number of other growth factors and their receptors, such as fibroblast growth factors, nerve growth factor, platelet-derived growth factors, and insulin-like growth factors and their respective receptors are expressed at increased levels in pancreatic cancer and are thought to contribute to its malignant phenotype. Taken together, the disturbance of growth inhibitory and apoptotic pathways and the abundance of growth promoting factors give pancreatic cancer cells a distinct growth advantage which clinically results in rapid tumor progression and poor survival prognosis.
pubmed:language
eng
pubmed:journal
pubmed:citationSubset
IM
pubmed:chemical
pubmed:status
MEDLINE
pubmed:issn
0270-3211
pubmed:author
pubmed:issnType
Print
pubmed:volume
21
pubmed:owner
NLM
pubmed:authorsComplete
Y
pubmed:pagination
27-44
pubmed:dateRevised
2006-11-15
pubmed:meshHeading
pubmed:year
2001
pubmed:articleTitle
Growth factors and their receptors in pancreatic cancer.
pubmed:affiliation
Department of Visceral and Transplantation Surgery, University of Bern, Inselspital, Bern, Switzerland.
pubmed:publicationType
Journal Article, Review, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't