Purpose of review: To describe recent studies of developmental signal pathways and their relation to the development of pancreatic cancer.
Recent findings: Pancreatic development and its relation to pancreatic cancer remain one of the most provocative areas in the field of pancreatology. Interestingly, for a long time, investigators in this field of research worked diligently in describing pathways that were shared by both processes, hoping that the day would come when their efforts would be translated into the development of diagnostic modalities and new treatments. Fortunately, during the past 2 years, we have witnessed the development of small molecules that specifically target distinct pathways, thus providing the proof of principle that the hope of many scientists in the field of pancreatic cancer was justified.
Summary: This conceptual validation of previous experiments has fuelled new studies, the results of which will be the focus of this review.