Submit to Special Issue Submit Abstract to Special Issue Review for Cancers Propose a Special Issue

Journal Menu

Journal Browser

► Journal Browser

Pancreatic Neoplasms in the 21st Century: Challenges and Opportunities in Diagnosis and Management

Editor
Special Issue Information
Keywords
Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue
Published Papers

A Special Issue of Cancers (ISSN 2072-6694).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 March 2027 | Viewed by 3750

Share This Special Issue

Editor

Dr. Beata Jabłońska

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor

Department of Digestive Tract Surgery, Medical University of Silesia, Katowice, Poland
Interests: gastrointestinal surgery; oncological surgery; vascular surgery; gastroenterology; angiology; oncology; nutritional status; nutrition
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Pancreatic neoplasms continue to represent one of the most formidable challenges in modern oncology. Their often silent progression, aggressive biology, and historically poor outcomes have made early detection and effective treatment a pressing priority. While pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) remains the most prevalent and lethal subtype, growing awareness of non-ductal tumors, including cystic neoplasms (intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms (IPMN), mucinous cystic neoplasms (MCN), serous cystic neoplasms (SCN)) and pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (PNET), underscores the complexity and diversity of pancreatic pathology.

This Special Issue seeks to illuminate the current landscape of diagnostics and treatment, highlighting advances that are transforming patient care. State-of-the-art imaging, endoscopic techniques, and molecular profiling are refining early detection and risk assessment. Treatment is increasingly multidisciplinary: surgical resection offers potential cure for localized disease, while systemic therapies—including neoadjuvant and adjuvant chemotherapy, targeted therapies, and immunotherapy—extend options for more advanced cases. Complementary approaches, such as minimally invasive surgery, radiotherapy, and endoscopic interventions, further enhance personalized management.

By bringing together expert perspectives from surgery, oncology, radiology, and pathology, this issue provides a comprehensive, up-to-date synthesisof pancreatic neoplasm care. Our goal is to inspire innovation, encourage collaborative research, and support clinicians in delivering individualized strategies that improve outcomes and quality of life for patients facing these complex tumors.

Dr. Beata Jabłońska
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Cancers is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDCA)
pancreatic mucinous cystic neoplasm (MCN)
pancreatic intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasm (IPMN)
pancreatic serous cystic neoplasm (SCN)
pancreatic solid pseudopapillary neoplasm (SPN)
pancreatic neuroendocrine tumor (PNET)
pancreatectomy
pancreatic resection

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
Reprint: MDPI Books provides the opportunity to republish successful Special Issues in book format, both online and in print.

Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (4 papers)

Download All Papers

Order results

Result details

Show export options Show export options

Select all

Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

Jump to: Review, Other

25 pages, 7023 KB

Open AccessArticle

Perioperative Thyroid-Metabolic Changes in Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma According to Surgical Management

by Oliwia Grząsiak-Kraj, Tomasz Kraj, Alicja Majos, Aleksander Wardęszkiewicz, Aneta Szmiel, Krzysztof Poznański, Adam Durczyński, Piotr Hogendorf and Janusz Strzelczyk

Cancers 2026, 18(11), 1769; https://doi.org/10.3390/cancers18111769 - 28 May 2026

Viewed by 403

Abstract

Background: Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is associated not only with tumor progression but also with profound metabolic and nutritional disturbances. Thyroid hormone homeostasis may reflect this systemic response; however, perioperative data in PDAC remain limited. We aimed to assess perioperative changes in thyroid-related parameters in patients with PDAC undergoing different types of surgical management and to explore their associations with nutritional, metabolic, and tumor-burden variables. Methods: We performed a retrospective single-center study including 101 patients with PDAC. Thyroid-related and metabolic laboratory parameters were assessed before surgery and again 4–6 weeks later. The analyzed variables included thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), free triiodothyronine (FT3), free thyroxine (FT4), the FT3/FT4 ratio, albumin, total protein, glucose, insulin, HbA1c, lipid parameters, and CA 19-9. Patients were analyzed according to resectional versus non-resectional treatment and according to four procedure types. The primary endpoint was perioperative change in the FT3/FT4 ratio. Results: At baseline, resectional patients had significantly higher FT3 and FT3/FT4 ratio values and lower FT4 and CA 19-9 levels than non-resectional patients. In the whole cohort, FT3 and the FT3/FT4 ratio decreased significantly after treatment, whereas TSH increased, and FT4 remained unchanged. These endocrine changes occurred in parallel with significant declines in albumin, total protein, glucose, insulin, HbA1c, and HDL cholesterol, together with an increase in triglyceride levels. Baseline FT3 and FT3/FT4 ratios correlated positively with albumin and total protein and negatively with CA 19-9. Although perioperative changes did not differ significantly between resectional and non-resectional groups except for triglycerides, significant procedure-dependent differences were observed across the four surgical categories for FT3, FT4, TSH, and the FT3/FT4 ratio; glucose; insulin; and triglycerides. The prevalence of low-T3 syndrome increased from 11.1% preoperatively to 38.7% postoperatively. Conclusions: In PDAC, perioperative changes in thyroid hormone indices are pronounced and strongly depend on the type of surgical management. FT3 and the FT3/FT4 ratio appear to reflect systemic metabolic and nutritional adaptation as well as disease burden rather than acting as tumor-specific markers. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Pancreatic Neoplasms in the 21st Century: Challenges and Opportunities in Diagnosis and Management)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

32 pages, 5226 KB

Open AccessArticle

Three Types of Collateral Arterial Supply to the Spleen After Spleen-Preserving Distal Pancreatectomies with Splenic Vessels Resection—How to Use This Knowledge for Organ(s) Preservation in Locally Advanced and Borderline Resectable Pancreatic Head Cancers Surgery—Hemodynamic, Surgical and Oncological Outcomes of 134 Spleen-Preserving Pancreatectomies

by Viacheslav Egorov, Soslan Dzigasov, Alexey Kolygin, Mikhail Vyborniy, Grigoriy Bolshakov, Roman Petrov, Pavel Kim, Anna Demchenkova and Alexander Sorokin

Cancers 2026, 18(10), 1675; https://doi.org/10.3390/cancers18101675 - 21 May 2026

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1112

Abstract

Background: Spleen-preserving (SP) distal pancreatectomy (DP) with splenic vessels resection (SVR) (Warsaw procedure, WP) is an option for the treatment of tumors with low malignant potential. The reverse blood flow through the short gastric arteries (SGA) explains the preservation of the spleen after SVR, but leaves the source of the blood supply to the SGAs hidden. The types of blood supply to the spleen after WP and their incidence have not been previously described, nor has the significance of these types for locally advanced pancreatic head cancer (LAPHC) surgery been determined. Aim: To determine the main types of spleen blood supply after WP, and to assess the feasibility and safety of splenic artery (SA) rotation for the organ-preserving surgery of LAPHC. Methods: Retrospective analyses of demographic and perioperative data, including CT scans, overall (OS) and progression-free (PFS) survival after 71 SP DP SVR and 41 SP SVR pancreaticoduodenectomies (PD) and total pancreatectomies (TP) for LAPHC (2007–2025). Results: In 134 SP procedures, SA was resected in 115 cases (71DP, 9 TP, 3 central, and 32 PD). Indications for surgery were MCN (41), IPMN (14), CSA (3), NEN (25), SPPN (8), PHDAC (40), sarcoma (1), autoimmune (1), and calculous chronic pancreatitis (1). There were no deaths or ischemia-related splenectomies. Morbidity—31% (n23); Dindo–Clavien (D-C) > 3b-2.8%; POPF-grade B-n7 (10.6%); splenic infarctions on CT after SVR-n18 (23%), one symptomatic. CT revealed three types of arterial blood supply to the spleen after SPDP SVR: left gastric artery (LGA) type (n50, 70, 5%), gastro-epyploic arcade (GEA) type (n9, 12, 5%), and an intermediate type (n12, 17%). Spleen- and pancreas tail-preserving SVR pancreatectomies for LAPHC (n41) were accompanied by rotation of the SA to substitute resected SMA (n19) and CHA (n15) for 26 Whipples and 8TPs. There were no ischemic complications. D-C > 3–19.5%. Median OS and PFS for PDAC were 35 and 21 months for 29.5 months median follow-up. Conclusions: Despite the preservation of blood flow through all potential sources of splenic blood supply following resection of the splenic artery, the main collaterals supplying the spleen after WP are LGA branches (~90%). This knowledge, with strict adherence to the developed criteria, allows for the safe preservation of the spleen, pancreatic tail, and stomach during pancreatectomies with SA resection, including its rotation for the substitution of the SMA and CHA in LAPHC. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Pancreatic Neoplasms in the 21st Century: Challenges and Opportunities in Diagnosis and Management)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

Review

Jump to: Research, Other

16 pages, 877 KB

Open AccessReview

The Classical–Basal Spectrum in Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma: A Developmental Framework for Tumour Cell Plasticity and Clinical Translation

by Ikra Khan, Azzadinne Belhaj, Alessandro Gemini, Kenza Azra Ibis, Nouman Darsif, Najoua Rouani, Aude Vanlander and Nouredin Messaoudi

Cancers 2026, 18(17), 2733; https://doi.org/10.3390/cancers18172733 - 23 Aug 2026

Viewed by 606

Abstract

Transcriptomic profiling reproducibly resolves pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) into two prognostically divergent tumour-intrinsic programmes—classical/progenitor and basal-like/squamous—accompanied by a separable stromal axis; additional proposed classes are strongly influenced by low tumour cellularity and generalise poorly across datasets. Rather than cataloguing these programmes, this review synthesises evidence that they behave as plastic cell states and proposes an integrative developmental framework for interpreting that plasticity, rather than claiming its discovery. The framework combines a normal-pancreas developmental reference frame, the regulation of state by lineage transcription factors, epigenetic remodelling, oncogenic (KRAS) dosage, stromal instruction, and treatment pressure, and a testable notion of spatial disorganisation. Throughout, we separate robust prognostic evidence—basal-like assignment and low GATA6 expression are consistently associated with worse outcome—from predictive claims: predictive utility remains unproven because no completed prospective trial has assigned treatment according to classical–basal subtype and demonstrated improved clinical outcome from that strategy, and existing signals derive from retrospective or observational analyses. The proposition that the classical–basal spectrum reflects a spatially disordered redeployment of the normal duct’s luminal–basal hierarchy is presented as a hypothesis requiring validation in independent atlases rather than as established biology. We define the falsifiable experiments needed to test the framework and its clinical implications. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Pancreatic Neoplasms in the 21st Century: Challenges and Opportunities in Diagnosis and Management)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

Other

Jump to: Research, Review

22 pages, 8378 KB

Open AccessSystematic Review

Survival Outcomes in Pancreatic Neuroendocrine Tumors: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Progression-Related Endpoints

by Lavinia Simona Neculai-Candea, Andreea-Daniela Caloian, Sorin Deacu, Miruna Cristian, Laura Mazilu, Andreea-Corina Ilie-Petrov, Radu Adrian Nitu, Carmen Aida Ciufu and Nicolae Ciufu

Cancers 2026, 18(11), 1705; https://doi.org/10.3390/cancers18111705 - 23 May 2026

Viewed by 1198

Abstract

Background: Pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (pNETs) represent a heterogeneous group of neoplasms characterized by variable biological behavior and clinical outcomes. Multiple therapeutic strategies have been investigated, including surgery, targeted therapies, peptide receptor radionuclide therapy, and systemic treatments. The present study aimed to summarize survival-related outcomes reported across studies investigating the management of pNETs. Methods: A systematic review of the literature was conducted including studies reporting clinical outcomes in patients with pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors. A total of 27 studies were included in the qualitative analysis. Survival-related outcomes, such as progression-free survival (PFS), recurrence-free survival (RFS), and recurrence rates, were extracted. Studies reporting quantitative survival values were included in the meta-analytical component. A random-effects model was applied, and a forest plot was generated to summarize the reported outcomes. Results: Reported survival outcomes varied substantially across studies. Median PFS values ranged from approximately 5.6 to 86.5 months, while several surgical series reported 5-year overall survival rates exceeding 90%. Recurrence rates following surgical resection ranged from approximately 12% to 26% in some cohorts. The pooled estimate derived from the meta-analytical model was 32.22 (95% CI: 15.65–48.80). Conclusions: The analysis summarizes survival-related outcomes reported in studies investigating pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors and provides a quantitative overview of the reported progression-related endpoints across the analyzed literature. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Pancreatic Neoplasms in the 21st Century: Challenges and Opportunities in Diagnosis and Management)

► Show Figures

Journal Menu

Journal Browser

Pancreatic Neoplasms in the 21st Century: Challenges and Opportunities in Diagnosis and Management

Share This Special Issue

Editor

Special Issue Information

Keywords

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

Published Papers (4 papers)

Research

Review

Other

Further Information

Guidelines

MDPI Initiatives

Follow MDPI