Pancreatic cancer treatment and research: an international expert panel discussion

Pancreatic cancer has proven extremely challenging to treat. A collaborative effort is needed to advance research and improve treatment. An expert conference was conducted to elicit perspectives regarding the current treatment and future research of pancreatic cancer.

The conference comprised an international panel of experts representing five European countries and the United States.

Adjuvant radiotherapy is used more frequently in the United States than in Europe. In locally advanced disease, there is now more emphasis on early chemotherapy in both Europe and the United States. In metastatic disease, combination chemotherapy is commonly used in Europe and the United States. This varies by country. Advancing pancreatic research will require improving biorepositories and developing a roadmap to prioritize therapeutic targets in different models. Small randomized phase II trials of both non-selected and enriched patient populations will help identify activity of new agents. Phase III trials should only be initiated in appropriate patients based on strong clinical and biological signals. Developing drugs in the adjuvant setting may be preferable to eliminate some of the challenges of drug development in the advanced disease setting.

Progress in research combined with encouraging improvements from the past offer hope for the future of pancreatic cancer patients.