Scientists create mouse model of human pancreatic cancer

Researchers have been trying for more than a decade to create a mouse version of human pancreatic cancer, one that would mimic the way the disease develops and progresses in humans. A team at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute published a paper in December 2003 announcing they've finally succeeded. How pancreatic cancer develops is poorly understood; usually it's at an advanced stage when it is detected. The researchers believe the mice will provide a much-needed window into the biology of how the cancer starts and grows.