Pancreatic cancer is the fifth leading cause of cancer-related death in the United States. In order to improve outcomes of this disease, significant research efforts have focused on understanding the changes that occur in the pancreas prior to tumor occurrence. The types of changes most often associated with tumor have been named pancreatic intraepithelial neoplasia (PanIN). It is not yet clear how to identify the PanIN lesions most likely to develop into cancer and the length of time required for this progression. In order to evaluate these questions, we are interested in examining the microscopic and genetic characteristics of PanIN lesions in two "high-risk" patients: 1) patients who underwent surgery for pancreatic cancer and developed tumor recurrence after surgery and 2) patients with a strong family history of pancreatic cancer or with a genetic syndrome that puts them at risk for pancreas cancer. The surgical specimens from these patients will be evaluated by a pathologist for evidence of widespread PanIN lesions. In addition, PanIN lesions will be tested for abnormalities in several major genes that are known to be important in pancreatic cancer.
