Loss of ATM increases pancreatic cancer formation via induction of EMT

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is one of the leading causes of cancer deaths in the developed world, with a 5 year survival rate as low as 5%. In recent years, genetically engineered animal models of pancreatic cancer, which recapitulate the human disease, have provided useful means of studying both the morphological and molecular features associated with PDAC. The most commonly studied model to date has been the expression of active Kras under the control of an endogenous, pancreas specific promoter, which leads to a spectrum of changes in the pancreas recapitulating development of human PDAC. Interest…