Its acellular matrix can constitute up to 90% of PDAC tumour bulk (Neesse et al., 2011; Torphy et al., 2018), and the tumour microenvironment (TME) consists of nonmalignant cells (e.g., stromal and immune cells) and noncellular components (e.g., collagen, glycoprotein and proteoglycans), indicating its complexity and desmoplasia (Feig et al., 2012; Tian et al., 2019). The gene discussed is ART4; the disease is neoplasm.