Adjuvant therapy in patients with pancreatic cancer.

Abstract

The prognosis for patients with pancreatic cancer is still very poor. A complete (R0) surgical resection of the tumor poses the only chance of cure. At the moment only postoperative chemotherapy with gemcitabine has significantly delayed the development of recurrent disease and showed an improvement in long-term survival compared to observation alone. It is essential to develop more effective adjuvant therapy strategies with involvement of all therapeutic options to change the disappointing situation.