Diffuse panbronchiolitis critical region 1 (DPCR1) is located in the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I. It was reported to be downregulated in invasive pituitary adenoma compared with that in non-invasive tumors, but upregulated in the precursor of gastric carcinogenesis. However, the direct effect of DPCR1 on cancer cells has rarely been reported, and the role DPCR1 in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) remains unclear. The clinical sample validation and public data analysis of the present study demonstrated that DPCR1 was upregulated markedly in PDAC and this high expression was negatively correlated with the patient prognosis. Functionally, knocking down DPCR1 in PDAC cell lines inhibited cell proliferation, migration and invasion in vitro. Tumor xenograft experiments further showed that suppression of DPCR1 inhibited tumor growth in vivo. In addition, the results of RNA deep sequencing and qRT-PCR assay showed that DPCR1 participated in PADC progression by regulating nuclear factor-kappa B signaling pathway, suggesting that it might be a novel oncogene in tumor progression and a potential therapeutic target in PDAC as well. (C) 2017 Published by Elsevier Inc.