Previous studies have demonstrated that in treatment-resistant models of lung and pancreatic cancer, cell subpopulations with high expression of HMGB2, BIRC5, and RRM1 exhibit increased DNA damage repair capabilities, leading to resistance to therapies that induce DNA damage such as radiotherapy and certain chemotherapies 18, 40, 41, 52. Here, RRM1 is linked to familial pancreatic carcinoma.