Figure 2.

Mechanisms of pancreatic cancer pathogenesis. Molecular contributions to pathogenesis include somatic mutations in driver genes, chromosomal alterations, epigenetic alterations, and transcriptional reprogramming, all occurring in tumor cells. Cellular contributions from the non-neoplastic tumor microenvironment include alterations in cancer-associated fibroblasts and the immune microenvironment. Population-level contributions include inherited DNA mutations, diabetes, obesity, smoking, and chronic pancreatitis.