Premium
Targeted therapies in pancreatic cancer: Promises and failures
Author(s) -
Barati Bagherabad Matineh,
Afzaljavan Fahimeh,
ShahidSales Soodabeh,
Hassanian Seyed Mahdi,
Avan Amir
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
journal of cellular biochemistry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.028
H-Index - 165
eISSN - 1097-4644
pISSN - 0730-2312
DOI - 10.1002/jcb.26284
Subject(s) - gemcitabine , irinotecan , medicine , oxaliplatin , pancreatic cancer , oncology , folfirinox , pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma , chemotherapy , cancer research , clinical trial , cancer , colorectal cancer
Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is an incidence rate nearly equal to its mortality rate. The poor prognosis of the disease can be explained by the absence of effective biomarkers for screening and early detection, together with the aggressive behavior and resistance to the currently available chemotherapy. The therapeutic failure can also be attributed to the inter‐/intratumor genetic heterogeneity and the abundance of tumor stroma that occupies the majority of the tumor mass. Gemcitabine is used in the treatment of PDAC; however, the response rate is less than 12%. A recent phase III trial revealed that the combination of oxaliplatin, irinotecan, fluorouracil, and leucovorin could be an option for the treatment of metastatic PDAC patients with good performance status, although these approaches can result in high toxicity level. Further investigations are required to develop innovative anticancer agents that either improve gemcitabine activity, within novel combinatorial approaches or acts with a better efficacy than gemcitabine. The aim of the current review is to give an overview of preclinical and clinical studies targeting key dysregulated signaling pathways in PDAC.