Fig. 1.

Microorganisms have been hypothesized to influence pancreatic cancer progression in both a remote (nonpancreatic) and local (intrapancreatic) manner. Distinct oral and gut microbiome compositions have been associated with pancreatic cancer risk, which potentially provides a noninvasive modality for pancreatic cancer early detection [32,41,43,55]. Mechanistically, gut microbiota can suppress the host anti-tumor immunity, facilitating PDAC progression. Local pancreatic microorganisms may also play an important role in pancreatic carcinogenesis in a similar manner.