TY - JOUR AB - Pancreatic cancer (PC) is a lethal malignancy. Its prevalence rate remains low but continues to grow each year. Among all stages of PC, metastatic PC is defined as late‑stage (stage IV) PC and has an even higher fatality rate. Patients with PC do not have any specific clinical manifestations. Most cases are inoperable at the time‑point of diagnosis. Prognosis is also poor even with curative‑intent surgery. Complications during surgery, postoperative pancreatic fistula and recurrence with metastatic foci make the management of metastatic PC difficult. While extensive efforts were made to improve survival outcomes, further elucidation of the molecular mechanisms of metastasis poses a formidable challenge. The present review provided an overview of the mechanisms of metastatic PC, summarizing currently known signaling pathways (e.g. epithelial‑mesenchymal transition, NF‑κB and KRAS), imaging that may be utilized for early detection and biomarkers (e.g. carbohydrate antigen 19‑9, prostate cancer‑associated transcript‑1, F‑box/LRR‑repeat protein 7 and tumor stroma), giving insight into promising therapeutic targets. AD - Department of Public Health, Chengdu Medical College, Chengdu, Sichuan 610500, P.R. China Department of Art, Art College, Southwest Minzu University, Chengdu, Sichuan 610041, P.R. China Department of Neuroscience, Beijing Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Beijing 100850, P.R. China AU - Chen,Xiangling AU - Liu,Fangfang AU - Xue,Qingping AU - Weng,Xiechuan AU - Xu,Fan DA - 2021/11/01 DO - 10.3892/or.2021.8182 IS - 5 JO - Oncol Rep KW - pancreatic cancer metastasis mechanism signaling pathway biomarker PY - 2021 SN - 1021-335X 1791-2431 SP - 231 ST - Metastatic pancreatic cancer: Mechanisms and detection (Review) T2 - Oncology Reports TI - Metastatic pancreatic cancer: Mechanisms and detection (Review) UR - https://doi.org/10.3892/or.2021.8182 VL - 46 ER -