Combined survival data from all three studies (Fig. 6b) showed OS tended to be shorter in pancreatic cancer patients with epigenetic abnormalities of CDKN2A than in PCs with normal expression of CDKN2A gene (OR = 4.46, 95% CI = 1.37–14.53, Z = 2.48, P = 0.01). Here, CDKN2A is linked to familial pancreatic carcinoma.