To investigate the contribution of the α2,3-sialyltransferases ST3GAL3 and ST3GAL4 to the adhesive and invasive capabilities of PDA cells, we first characterized their expression levels as well as those of sLex, sLea and different sialic acid determinants (α2,3 and/or α2,6) in a panel of seven pancreatic cancer cell lines (AsPC-1, BxPC-3, Capan-1, Capan-2, HPAF-II, Panc 10.05 and SW 1990). The gene discussed is ST3GAL4; the disease is familial pancreatic carcinoma.