State of the art for metastatic pancreatic cancer treatment: Where are we now?*

Abstract

The prognosis of metastatic pancreatic cancer remains poor despite the recent progress on modern chemotherapeutic regimens, such as FOLFIRINOX, gemcitabine and nab-paclitaxel. A better understanding of the altered signalling pathways and the importance of stroma and the immune environment in pancreatic cancer have led to the development of new clinical trials with promising results. In the present review, a general outline of current first- and second-line therapies is provided. Further, new therapeutic possibilities are reviewed, in particular EGFR and VEGF inhibitors, immunotherapy and PARP inhibitors.