Pancreatic Neoplasms Are Frighteningly Common: A Role for Immune Surveillance?

Summary: Carpenter and colleagues analyze organ donors to find that pancreatic intraepithelial neoplasia (PanIN), the precursor lesions of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma, are highly prevalent in the average healthy adult starting from a young age. Why these precursor lesions do not progress to cancer in most people is a mystery. See related article by Carpenter et al., p. 1324 (1).