Richard A. Morgan

TL;DR: Detailed genomic analysis of 456 pancreatic ductal adenocarcinomas identified 32 recurrently mutated genes that aggregate into 10 pathways: KRAS, TGF-β, WNT, NOTCH, ROBO/SLIT signalling, G1/S transition, SWI-SNF, chromatin modification, DNA repair and RNA processing.

TL;DR: Genomic instability co-segregated with inactivation of DNA maintenance genes (BRCA1, BRCA2 or PALB2) and a mutational signature of DNA damage repair deficiency, and 4 of 5 individuals with these measures of defective DNA maintenance responded to platinum therapy.

TL;DR: It is found that frequent and diverse somatic aberrations in genes described traditionally as embryonic regulators of axon guidance, particularly SLIT/ROBO signalling, are also evident in murine Sleeping Beauty transposon-mediated somatic mutagenesis models of pancreatic cancer, providing further supportive evidence for the potential involvement ofAxon guidance genes in pancreatic carcinogenesis.

TL;DR: The finding of B cl-2 overexpression in poorly differentiated NECs, particularly small cell NEC, suggests that Bcl-2 antagonists/inhibitors may be a viable treatment option for these patients.

TL;DR: This work proposes that USP9X is a major tumour suppressor gene with prognostic and therapeutic relevance in PDA, and finds that loss of Usp9x enhances transformation and protects pancreatic cancer cells from anoikis.