Exosomes in pancreatic juice as valuable source of biomarkers for early diagnosis of pancreatic cancer

Abstract

Pancreatic cancer (PC) is a deadly malignancy which continues to have a high mortality rate despite advances in imaging and treatment modalities. The poor prognosis of PC is largely attributed to the silent nature of early disease. Early PC is largely asymptomatic, or presents with generalised symptoms such as abdominal pain. Due to late diagnosis, patients are unable to reap the full benefits of treatments, such as surgery. It is thus imperative to develop non-invasive, specific, and sensitive biomarkers to aid diagnosis of PC in the early stages. Pancreatic juice is a promising biofluid in the area of diagnostics. Several cancer-specific molecules, e.g., proteins and RNA have been identifi..