Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is a highly aggressive, treatment-resistant cancer. Five-year survival rate is about 9%, one of the lowest among all solid tumors. Such a poor outcome is partly due to the limited knowledge of tumor biology, and the resulting lack of effective treatment options and robust predictive biomarkers. The leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF) has recently emerged as a potential biomarker and therapeutic target for PDAC. Accumulating evidence has suggested that LIF plays a role in supporting cancer evolution as a regulator of cell differentiation, renewal and survival. Interestingly, it can be detected in the serum of PDAC patients at higher concentrations than healthy individuals, this supporting its potential value as diagnostic biomarker. Furthermore, preliminary data indicate that testing for LIF serum concentration or tissue expression may help with treatment response monitoring and prognostication. Finally, studies in PDAC mouse models have also shown that LIF may be a valuable therapeutic target, and first-in-human clinical trial is currently ongoing. This article aims to review the available data on the role of LIF in PDAC promotion, and to discuss the evidence supporting its potential role as a biomarker and target of effective anti-cancer therapy in this setting.

胰腺导管腺癌 (PDAC) 是一种高度侵袭性、难治性的癌症。五年生存率约为 9%，是所有实体瘤中最低的之一。如此糟糕的结果部分是由于对肿瘤生物学的了解有限，以及由此导致缺乏有效的治疗选择和可靠的预测性生物标志物。白血病抑制因子 (LIF) 最近已成为 PDAC 的潜在生物标志物和治疗靶点。越来越多的证据表明，LIF 作为细胞分化、更新和存活的调节剂，在支持癌症进化方面发挥着作用。有趣的是，它可以在 PDAC 患者的血清中检测到比健康个体更高的浓度，这支持了它作为诊断生物标志物的潜在价值。此外，初步数据表明，检测 LIF 血清浓度或组织表达可能有助于治疗反应监测和预测。最后，对 PDAC 小鼠模型的研究也表明 LIF 可能是一个有价值的治疗靶点，目前正在进行首次人体临床试验。本文旨在回顾 LIF 在 PDAC 推广中作用的现有数据，并讨论支持其作为生物标志物和有效抗癌治疗靶点的潜在作用的证据。