Why is pancreatic cancer so hard to treat? Stroma provides new clues
(PHYSorg.com Medicine & Health)

Researchers have moved an important step closer to understanding why pancreatic cancer is so hard to treat. With a median survival of only 6 months and a 5-year survival rate of about 8%, patients tend to be diagnosed when the disease has already spread to other parts of the body - this is one part of the problem. Another is that when treated with existing chemotherapy drugs, patients tend to benefit only slightly or not at all.