LINEAGE REVERSION in the transition to cancer
A common feature of many epithelial cancers is loss of lineage specification, wherein cells revert to a progenitor or 'stem-like' state and fail to remain terminally differentiated. The situation is no different in pancreatic cancer, where it has long been understood that the pre-neoplastic cell also expresses several progenitor genes.
Employing novel in vivo models, we are currently characterizing the role of dedifferentiation in pancreatic cancer and their importance to tumor biology.