Pancreatic cancer (PC) is a lethal malignancy. Its prevalence rate remains low but continues to grow each year. Among all stages of PC, metastatic PC is defined as late‑stage (stage IV) PC and has an even higher fatality rate. Patients with PC do not have any specific clinical manifestations. Most cases are inoperable at the time‑point of diagnosis. Prognosis is also poor even with curative‑intent surgery. Complications during surgery, postoperative pancreatic fistula and recurrence with metastatic foci make the management of metastatic PC difficult. While extensive efforts were made to improve survival outcomes, further elucidation of the molecular mechanisms of metastasis poses a formidable challenge. The present review provided an overview of the mechanisms of metastatic PC, summarizing currently known signaling pathways (e.g. epithelial‑mesenchymal transition, NF‑κB and KRAS), imaging that may be utilized for early detection and biomarkers (e.g. carbohydrate antigen 19‑9, prostate cancer‑associated transcript‑1, F‑box/LRR‑repeat protein 7 and tumor stroma), giving insight into promising therapeutic targets.

中文翻译：

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转移性胰腺癌：机制和检测（综述）。

胰腺癌 (PC) 是一种致命的恶性肿瘤。它的流行率仍然很低，但每年都在继续增长。在 PC 的所有阶段中，转移性 PC 被定义为晚期（IV 期）PC，死亡率更高。PC 患者没有任何特定的临床表现。大多数病例在诊断时间点无法手术。即使进行了治愈性手术，预后也很差。手术并发症、术后胰瘘和转移灶复发使转移性 PC 的管理变得困难。尽管为改善生存结果做出了广泛的努力，但进一步阐明转移的分子机制仍是一项艰巨的挑战。本综述概述了转移性 PC 的机制，总结了目前已知的信号通路（例如