The State-of-the-Art of Phase II/III Clinical Trials for Targeted Pancreatic Cancer Therapies

Pancreatic cancer is a devastating disease with very poor prognosis. Currently, surgery followed by adjuvant chemotherapy represents the only curative option which, unfortunately, is only available for a small group of patients. The majority of pancreatic cancer cases are diagnosed at advanced or metastatic stage when surgical resection is not possible and treatment options are limited. Thus, novel and more effective therapeutic strategies are urgently needed. Molecular profiling together with targeted therapies against key hallmarks of pancreatic cancer appear as a promising approach that could overcome the limitations of conventional chemo- and radio-therapy. In this review, we focus on the latest personalised and multimodal targeted therapies currently undergoing phase II or III clinical trials. We discuss the most promising findings of agents targeting surface receptors, angiogenesis, DNA damage and cell cycle arrest, key signalling pathways, immunotherapies, and the tumour microenvironment.

Automated summary

Pancreatic cancer has a poor prognosis, and surgery with adjuvant chemotherapy is the only curative option for a small group of patients. Novel therapeutic strategies are urgently needed for advanced or metastatic cases where surgical resection is not possible. Molecular profiling and targeted therapies show promise in overcoming the limitations of conventional treatments. Currently, personalized and multimodal targeted therapies are undergoing clinical trials with promising results targeting various aspects of pancreatic cancer.