الفهرس 
Introduction and aim of the work...Only 14 pages are availabe for public view
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Abstract
Pancreatic cancer is characterized by a very high mortality rate. which is approximately the same as the incidence rate. A key to change this situation is to detect the cancer at an earlier, more treatable, stage. So, there is considerable interest in identifying specific diagnostic markers for pancreatic neoplasia. The most widely used serological markers in diagnosis of pancreatic caner are Carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), Carbohydrat antigen 19-9 (CA19-9) and Carbohydrat antigen 242 (CA 242). Of the newly described biomarkers, only Carcinoembryonic antigen-related cell adhesion molecule (CEACAM1) was reported to be superior to CA19-9 at distinguishing samples of cancer from normal. Furthermore, the combination of CEACAM1 and CA19-9 was superior to either alone. Over the last decade, significant advances have been made in understanding the molecular biology of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma. Molecular studies of pancreatic duct carcinomas have revealed that this cancer is associated with several genetic mutations. These mutations include activation of K-ras and inactivation of p53, p16, and SMAD4. It is clear that oncogenes, tumor suppressor genes, growth factors, and tumor-associated proteinases all play a role in pancreatic tumorigenesis. However, a better understanding of the relative contribution of each of these molecular alterations is necessary and will aid the development of more effective diagnostic and therapeutic strategies to deal with this cancer. Now, a plethora of candidate biomarkers have been identified. Unfortunately, biomarker discovery for this disease is still in its discovery phase, but may be used within a panel of biomarkers which is superior to the use of any single biomarker. Finally, improvement of understanding of the underlying fundamental alterations that trigger pancreatic cancer, new treatments targeting these alterations may emerge. Furthermore, suitable biomarkers are expected to be validated and useful for the early detection of pancreatic cancer within the next few years.