MOLECULAR BIOMARKERS OF PANCREATIC DUCTAL ADENOCARCINOMA AND THEIR USEFULNESS IN CLINICAL PRACTICE

Ductal adenocarcinoma is the most common type of pancreatic tumors that is notable for its highly aggressive phenotype, difficulties in diagnosis establishing, exceptionally unfavorable prognosis and resistance to standard methods of therapy . The development of relevant methods for early diagnostics and treatment of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is a challenging task of modern clinical oncology. Lately the search for specific molecular markers of this tumor type has become an increasingly promising field in solving this problem. Up to date the single widely used PDAC marker is CA 19-9, but its sensitivity and specificity are below optimal values. New promising biomarkers of this tumor are under extensive investigation for their efficiency and usefulness in clinical practice. In this review the most significant molecular PDAC markers, their diagnostic, prognostic and predictive value in terms of feasibility of clinical use are considered.