Abstract
Pancreatic cancer is the fourth leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the United States. Mortality from adenocarcinoma remains high despite decades of effort with regards to basic and clinical research. The biology of this disease is complex, and both inherited and environmental risk factors play a role in the pathogenesis and progression from precursor lesions to invasive carcinoma. Surgery remains the only curative option, but less than 20 % of patients are candidates for resection at the time of diagnosis. As such, a multidisciplinary approach focused not only on curative therapy, but also on palliative care and symptom control, constitutes import aspects of the management of pancreatic adenocarcinoma. In the future, the early identification of precursor lesions among high-risk individuals will hopefully improve mortality from this fatal disease.