Systemic therapy for advanced pancreatic cancer

Death from pancreatic cancer remains high with few long-term survivors. Systemic chemotherapy with 5-fluorouracil-based combinations had minimal impact on natural history of this disease. Several new agents with activity against pancreatic cancer have been identified over the past decade. Gemcitabine has modest activity in this disease. Combination chemotherapy trials incorporating gemcitabine, cisplatin, 5-fluorouracil, oxaliplatin, docetaxel or irinotecan show improved outcomes in objective response rates and survival that need to be confirmed in prospectively randomized studies. Advancement in the understanding of the biology of pancreatic cancer has helped identify several molecular targets for the development of novel therapies. Ongoing and future treatment regimens for pancreatic cancer will incorporate traditional cytotoxic drugs and novel targeted therapies.