Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is a highly aggressive malignancy, and the seventh leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide. An improved understanding of tumor biology and novel therapeutic discoveries are needed to improve overall survival. Recent multi-gene analysis approaches such as next-generation sequencing have provided useful information on the molecular characterization of pancreatic tumors. Different types of pancreatic cancer and precursor lesions are characterized by specific molecular alterations. Genetically engineered mouse models (GEMMs) of PDAC are useful to understand the roles of altered genes. Most GEMMs are driven by oncogenic Kras, and can recapitulate the histological and molecular hallmarks of human PDAC and comparable precursor lesions. Advanced GEMMs permit the temporally and spatially controlled manipulation of multiple target genes using a dual-recombinase system or CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing. GEMMs that express fluorescent proteins allow cell lineage tracing to follow tumor growth and metastasis to understand the contribution of different cell types in cancer progression. GEMMs are widely used for therapeutic optimization. In this review, we summarize the main molecular alterations found in pancreatic neoplasms, developed GEMMs, and the contribution of GEMMs to the current understanding of PDAC pathobiology. Furthermore, we attempted to modify the categorization of altered driver genes according to the most updated findings.

Cytochrome P450 F3 (CYP4F3) is recognized as a disease-associated immune response initiator that is involved in the synthesis of cholesterol, steroids, and lipids. This study identified the upregulation of CYP4F3 expression in colorectal cancer (CRC) and its association with poor patient prognosis through a comparative analysis between CRC tumor tissues with normal tissues from public databases. The overexpression of CYP4F3 in CT26.wt and SW620, promoted cell proliferation and migration, a reduction of cellular oxidative stress, an up-regulation of the oxidative stress-related pathway NRF2, and an inhibition of cellular ferroptosis. Additionally, inhibition of NRF2 activity stimulated cellular ferroptosis when CYP4F3 was overexpressed. Ferroptosis, characterized by iron-dependent lipid peroxidation, is a non-apoptotic way of cell death with a critical role in cancer development. When given a ferroptosis agonist to CYP4F3-overexpression CRC cells, NRF2 was activated, and cell proliferation and migration were reduced. Furthermore, the mice subcutaneously injected with CYP4F3-overexpression CT26.wt cells formed significantly larger tumors compared to the CYP4F3-vector CT26.wt cell group. This study systematically identified an important role of CYP4F3 in CRC development as a regulator of CRC cells to escape ferroptosis via NRF2, highlighting the significance of CYP4F3 as a potential therapeutic target for CRC.

The transversus abdominis plane block (TAP-B) has emerged as a key component of multimodal analgesic regimens aimed at mitigating perioperative pain in diverse abdominal surgeries. Despite its widespread clinical adoption, the precise analgesic efficacy of TAP-B remains a subject of ongoing debate and active scientific inquiry. Therefore, a systematic evaluation of TAP-B publication trends and emerging research directions is essential to guide future investigation and advance evidence-based practice. A comprehensive bibliometric analysis was conducted using the Web of Science Core Collection (WoSCC) database, covering TAP-B-related publications from January 2007 to May 2024. Extracted bibliographic data included authorship, institutional affiliation, country of origin, journal, funding source, research discipline, and research focus. Only original research articles were included, resulting in 702 publications for final analysis. Among the 702 eligible articles, the United States contributed the highest number of publications, followed by China and India. At the institutional level, the University of Copenhagen emerged as the most productive institution. Laffey JG and McDonnell JG were identified as the most prolific authors, while Surgical Endoscopy and Other Interventional Techniques published the highest number of TAP-B-related articles. Key research themes centered on perioperative analgesia, ultrasound-guided regional anesthesia, and laparoscopy. Emerging trends indicated growing interest in the analgesic mechanisms of TAP-B and its comparative efficacy with other novel truncal blocks, such as quadratus lumborum and erector spinae plane blocks. This bibliometric analysis provides a comprehensive overview of global research activity in TAP-B, identifying dominant themes, influential contributors, and evolving research frontiers. The findings underscore the significant role of TAP-B in modern regional anesthesia and multimodal analgesic regimens. Furthermore, this study highlights key research areas for future investigation aimed at optimizing the clinical application of TAP-B and its integration into evolving multimodal analgesia strategies.