Pancreatic
 Cancer
 is
 a
 serious
 health
 problem
 in
 developed
 countries.
Each
 year
 over
 600,000
 people
 die
 worldwide
 as
 a
 result
 of
 the
 disease.1
Pancreatic
cancer
has
the
highest
fatality
rate
of
all
cancers
with
5‐year
survival
rates
 less
 than
 5%.2
 In
 the
 early
 stages
 of
 pancreatic
 cancer
 symptoms
 are
difficult
 to
 observe,
 leading
 to
 locally
 advanced
 or
 metastatic
 disease
 at
 time
 of
diagnosis.3
 Current
 treatment
 strategies
 include
 chemotherapy,
 radiation
 and
pancreatectomy,
a
surgical
procedure
to
remove
affected
parts
of
the
pancreas.4
These
 commonly
 have
 little
 effect
 on
 progression
 of
 the
 disease
 and
 typically
only
 extend
 the
 lives
 of
 patients
 by
 a
 matter
 of
 weeks
 or
 months.4
 The
 median
survival
 time
 from
 diagnosis
 of
 affected
 individuals
 is
 4‐6
 months.5
 Despite
recent
 advances
 made
 in
 treatment
 of
 many
 cancers,
 the
 outlook
 for
 patients
suffering
from
pancreatic
cancer
has
not
improved
in
over
3
decades.2
Although
no
 clinically
 effective
 therapeutics
 exist
 to
 date,
 advances
 in
 our
 understanding
of
 pancreatic
 cancer
 biology
 has
 led
 to
 the
 recognition
 of
 novel
 targets
 for
potential
 cancer
 therapies.
 One
 such
 potential
 therapeutic
 strategy
 is
 the
 ‘anti‐ austerity’
approach
to
the
treatment
of
pancreatic
cancer.