Abstract: With the increase of morbidity and mortality, pancreatic cancer will not only become one of the leading causes of death in China, but also a major public health problem in the world. New onset cases of pancreatic cancer all around the world are expected to increase year by year. The prognosis of patients with pancreatic cancer is poor. The 5-year survival rate is only about 6%. The major reason for the poor prognosis is the lack of typical clinical symptoms in the early stage of disease, which makes it difficult to detect and control its relevant recurrence and metastasis. Moreover, lack of effective chemotherapy drugs and resistance to existing chemotherapy drugs are also important reasons for its dismal status. Radical resection surgery is still the most effective treatment. However, even after radical resection surgery, early recurrence and distant metastasis are still the main problems that bother patients. This article reviews recent high quality studies on pancreatic cancer including epidemiological investigation, advances in basic research, and clinical treatment.

Key words: Pancreatic cancer, Epidemiology, Basic research, Clinical research, Progress