Novel strategies for managing pancreatic cancer

Figure 1 Example of pancreatic intraepithelial neoplasia lesion development to pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma. Inflammatory stimuli trigger the activation of pancreatic stellate cells (PaSC) surrounding acinus cells. Inflammatory cells (monocytes, T-cells, neutrophils, mast cells, and macrophages) gather in response and release ligands (interleukin-6) that activate STAT3 gene to promote pancreatic intraepithelial neoplasia (PanIN) development in susceptible tissue with oncogenic mutations such as the Kras. PDAC: Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma. Figure redrawn with permissions from Elsevier: [10] and Macmillan Publishers Ltd: [12].

Figure 2 Symptoms of paraneoplastic type 3c diabetes preceding pancreatic cancer. A: A comparison of weight-loss timeline to cancer-specific symptoms; B: Schematic representation of the cause for progressive weight reduction and insulin resistance. Adipose tissue inflammation triggers an alteration of adipocyte secretion and propagates pathogenic processes similar to type 2 diabetes, eventually leading to cachexia. Figures redrawn with permission from Macmillan Publishers Ltd: [17].