One study showed that positive expression of TGF‐β in immunohistochemistry was associated with poor postoperative disease‐free survival in pancreatic cancer patients undergoing surgery (P < .05).23 Another study revealed that TGF‐β receptor positivity in tumor cells was associated with advanced stage in pancreatic cancer.28 However, in many cases, acquiring a sufficient amount of pancreatic tumor tissue to evaluate TGF‐β expression is difficult, which is a major limitation. This evidence concerns the gene TGFB1 and familial pancreatic carcinoma.