Introduction of special column “Case Report/Precision Medicine”

Pancreatic cancer patients have not benefited from the rising tide of improved overall cancer survival brought about by precision medicine. However, a small subgroup of pancreatic cancer patients have exceptional outcomes. Rare tumor mutations also define small subgroups of pancreatic cancer patients who may respond to the targeted therapies that match to the rare mutations. Prospective clinical trials with a large sample size are unlikely be developed to investigate such small subgroups of patients. This special column is thus established for sharing the knowledge on these small subgroups of patients and for inspiring the development of new concepts and strategies of identifying the biological determinants that define these small subgroups and subsequently tailoring their management.

Acknowledgments

Funding: None.

Footnote

Provenance and Peer Review: This article was commissioned by the editorial office, Annals of Pancreatic Cancer. The article did not undergo external peer review.

Conflicts of Interest: Both authors have completed the ICMJE uniform disclosure form (available at http://dx.doi.org/10.21037/apc-2020-01). LZ serves as the Editor-in-Chief of Annals of Pancreatic Cancer. and reports grants from Merck, during the conduct of the study; grants from iTeos, grants from Bristol-Meyer Squibb, grants from Merck, grants from Astrazeneca, grants from Amgen, grants from NovaRock, grants from Inxmed, grants from Halozyme, personal fees from Biosion, personal fees and other from Alphamab, personal fees from NovaRock, personal fees from Akrevia/Xilio, personal fees from Datarevive, personal fees from QED, personal fees from Natera, personal fees and other from Mingruizhiyao, outside the submitted work. XC serves as an unpaid section editor (Communication with International Societies) from Jun 2017 to Dec 2020. The authors have no other conflicts of interest to declare.

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