TGFB1 and neoplasm: It has a central role in the initiation and progression of PDAC [19] which is evident from the observation that its aberrant expression in advanced tumour stages is associated with decreased survival in PDAC patients [20], and that the TGF-β1 signalling pathway is among the 12 core pathways that are genetically altered in 100 % of PDAC tumours [21].