Recent developments in palliative chemotherapy for locally advanced and metastatic pancreas cancer

摘要: In spite of advances made in the management other more common cancers gastrointestinal tract, significant progress treatment pancreatic cancer remains elusive. Nearly as many deaths occur from are diagnosed each year reflecting poor prognosis typically associated with this disease. Until recently, only an impact on survival was surgery. palliative setting, gemcitabine (Gem) has been a standard for advanced since it shown decade ago to result superior clinical benefit response and compared bolus 5-fluorouracil. Since then, trials have explored pharmacokinetic modulation Gem by fixed dose administration combination cytotoxic or biologically “targeted” agents. However, promising trial results small phase II not translated into improvements larger III randomized disease setting. Two recently reported modest use capecitabine (United Kingdom National Cancer Research GEMCAP trial) erlotinib (National Institute Canada Clinical Trials Group PA.3 trial). This review will focus systemic therapy metastatic cancer, summarizing several recent discuss their implications practice. We also briefly second-line chemotherapy options cancer.