Chemotherapy for pancreatic cancer: from metastatic disease to adjuvant therapy

Pancreatic cancer remains a significant therapeutic challenge in oncology as the 21st century begins. Currently available cytotoxic chemotherapeutic agents provide only a modest survival benefit for patients with advanced disease. Recent efforts to improve survival in the setting of locally advanced and metastatic disease have focused on combinations of cytotoxic agents and the integration of newer molecular agents. To date, these strategies have been somewhat disappointing, prompting some experts to consider changes in clinical trial design with more rigorous patient eligibility criteria. In the adjuvant therapy setting, investigation of newer agents has lagged behind studies in more advanced disease, but recent results suggested some evidence of incremental advance. However, just as in advanced pancreatic cancer, without a more disciplined approach to patient selection for surgical intervention and subsequent adjuvant therapy, progress can be expected to remain very slow. This review will provide a brief summary of the history of chemotherapy in the treatment of pancreatic cancer and focus on its current and future role in adjuvant therapy.