Potential epigenetic biomarkers for the diagnosis and prognosis of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinomas.

With an estimated 37,000 deaths per year, pancreatic cancer is the fourth leading cause of cancer deaths in the USA. A total of 95% of pancreatic cancers are exocrine neoplasms, known as pancreatic ductal adenocarcinomas (PDACs). The difficulty of early diagnosis and the high prevalence of metastasis associated with PDAC contribute to its dismal prognosis.