Every year, about 10,000 people develop pancreatic cancer in Germany. Pancreatic cancer therefore is the fifth most common cause of death in cancer patients in the Federal Republic.

In one out of every 20 cases, the patient has a first-degree relative who also has this tumour. In these cases, there is a genetic predisposition to develop a tumour, known as cancer syndrome. The patient's chances of recovery are dramatically increased when the tumour is detected and surgically removed at an early stage. That's why it is important to identify people who have a higher risk of developing pancreatic cancer and include them in a screening programme early on.

For this reason, the University Hospital of Marburg started a patient-oriented collection of cases of pancreatic cancer syndrome (FaPaCa project) in 1999. The goal is to determine how hereditary predispositions and external factors influence pancreatic cancer. With the findings of this research, scientists hope to be able to improve prevention, early diagnosis and the chances of recovery of people with a family history of pancreatic cancer.

The GAUFF foundation has been active in the fight against cancer for many years now and also supports the FaPaCa project. One important aspect of the research is to find clear indicators of a genetic predisposition of the affected. This is also one of the aspects the FaPaCa project focuses on to be able to define possible diagnostic biomarkers that help detect such a genetic predisposition early on.