The research purpose of this project is to create a registry, and blood and tissue bank for individuals at high-risk for pancreatic cancer. We plan to conduct histopathological and molecular analysis of resected pancreatic tissue prospectively collected from a cohort of pancreatic cancer patients.
Pancreatic cancer is the fifth leading cause of cancer-related death in the United States. In order to improve outcomes of this disease, significant research efforts have focused on understanding the changes that occur in the pancreas prior to tumor occurrence. The types of changes most often associated with tumor have been named pancreatic intraepithelial neoplasia (PanIN). It is not yet clear how to identify the PanIN lesions most likely to develop into cancer and the length of time required for this progression. In order to evaluate these questions, we are interested in examining the microscopic and genetic characteristics of PanIN lesions in two "high-risk" patients: 1) patients who underwent surgery for pancreatic cancer and developed tumor recurrence after surgery and 2) patients with a strong family history of pancreatic cancer or with a genetic syndrome that puts them at risk for pancreas cancer. The surgical specimens from these patients will be evaluated by a pathologist for evidence of widespread PanIN lesions. In addition, PanIN lesions will be tested for abnormalities in several major genes that are known to be important in pancreatic cancer.
Study Type
OBSERVATIONAL
Enrollment
5
Columbia University Irving Medical Center
New York, New York, United States
Number of subjects with histological features of PanIN lesions assessed
Distinctive histological features of PanIN within surgical specimens of our two study groups will be assessed by pathologists.
Time frame: 1 year
Evaluation of clonality multifocal PanIN lesions
Using microarray-based comparative genomic hybridization (aCGH) to evaluate the samples.
Time frame: 1 year
Evaluation of Recurrence Mechanism in PDC
aCGH will also be utilized to evaluate recurrence mechanism in a set of cases in which both original tumor and recurrence tumor was resected, allowing for clonal origins to be evaluated.
Time frame: 1 year
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