CRISPR/Cas9 engineering offers new opportunities to model pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma development

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is a dismal disease. The 5-year survival is below 5%, which is due to a combination of aggressive disease progression, late diagnosis and limited treatment options (1). Consequently, PDAC is predicted to be the second-largest contributor to cancer related deaths by 2020 (2). New approaches and models to accelerate therapeutic development and improve patient outcome are therefore urgently needed.