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Review
. 2022 Jan 13:9:795735.
doi: 10.3389/fcell.2021.795735. eCollection 2021.

Deconstructing Pancreatic Cancer Using Next Generation-Omic Technologies-From Discovery to Knowledge-Guided Platforms for Better Patient Management

Daniel Schreyer  1 , John P Neoptolemos  2 , Simon T Barry  3 , Peter Bailey  1   2   4
Affiliations
Review

Deconstructing Pancreatic Cancer Using Next Generation-Omic Technologies-From Discovery to Knowledge-Guided Platforms for Better Patient Management

Daniel Schreyer et al. Front Cell Dev Biol. .

Abstract

Comprehensive molecular landscaping studies reveal a potentially brighter future for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) patients. Blood-borne biomarkers obtained from minimally invasive "liquid biopsies" are now being trialled for early disease detection and to track responses to therapy. Integrated genomic and transcriptomic studies using resectable tumour material have defined intrinsic patient subtypes and actionable genomic segments that promise a shift towards genome-guided patient management. Multimodal mapping of PDAC using spatially resolved single cell transcriptomics and imaging techniques has identified new potentially therapeutically actionable cellular targets and is providing new insights into PDAC tumour heterogeneity. Despite these rapid advances, defining biomarkers for patient selection remain limited. This review examines the current PDAC cancer biomarker ecosystem (identified in tumour and blood) and explores how advances in single cell sequencing and spatially resolved imaging modalities are being used to uncover new targets for therapeutic intervention and are transforming our understanding of this difficult to treat disease.

Keywords: cancer biomarker; molecular profiling and subtyping; next-generation sequencing; omic; pancreatic cancer; precision medicine; single-cell ‘omics; spatial transcriptomics.

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Conflict of interest statement

Author SB is employed by AstraZeneca, Cambridge, United Kingdom. The remaining authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Overview of patient materials isolated from liquid and tissue biopsies for omic analysis and their clinical utility. The circulating biomarkers: cell-free tumour DNA (ctDNA), circulating tumour cells (CTCs), exosomes, proteins or metabolites can be isolated and characterized from blood specimens. In comparison, tissue biopsies extract bulk tumour tissue, which can be used as a whole (Bulk Tumour) or dissociated into single cells. In combination with omic technologies, these biological materials can have diverse clinical use (left and right).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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