Microbiomes in Human Pancreatic Cancer

In the US, pancreatic cancer is the fourth leading cause of cancer-related death, and as most pancreatic cancers are diagnosed late in the progression of the disease, only 5% of patients are alive 5 years after initial diagnosis. Unfortunately, the causes of pancreatic cancer are largely unknown, but new studies support the role of bacteria. In this project, we aimed to (1) measure microbiota in patients with pancreatic cancer, and in subjects who did not have cancer using a combination of state-of-the-art molecular techniques; (2) examine possible routes of bacteria dissemination from the mouth to the pancreas.