No mutations were identified in mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase 4 (0 of 22), MADH4 (0 of 22), or ACVR1B (0 of 29), making it unlikely that germ-line mutations in these genes account for a significant number of inherited pancreatic cancers.
ACVR1B suppresses early stages of pancreatic tumorigenesis; the activin signaling pathway therefore might be a therapeutic target for pancreatic cancer.
We identified a homozygous deletion of the ACVR1B gene in PC cell lines and clinical samples and proposed that the deletion of the ACVR1B gene may mediate an aggressive cancer phenotype in PC.