PRSS1 and familial pancreatic carcinoma: Secondly, hereditary causes of pancreatitis, such as the autosomal dominant form caused by germline mutations of the cationic trypsinogen gene, PRSS1, have been indirectly linked to PDAC through early onset chronic pancreatitis with an associated 53-fold increased incidence and approximately 40% of hereditary pancreatitis patients noted to develop pancreatic cancer by age 70 (Hahn et al., 2003; Hezel et al., 2006; Koorstra et al., 2008).