[Recent update of molecular targeted therapy in pancreatic cancer]

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma is one of the most dreaded malignancies and the 5th leading cause of cancer-related death in Korea. Late diagnosis and unfavorable response to both chemotherapy and radiotherapy result in exceptionally poor prognosis. Recently, the rapid advances of molecular biology allowed an in-depth understanding of pancreatic carcinogenesis, and there are many attempts to modulate signal pathway using specific targeted agent. However, the most of them have so far failed to improve survival significantly except erlotinib. The real challenge is now how these impressive advances of molecular biology could be successfully integrated into better clinical implications. Herein, we summarize the latest insights into the carcinogenesis, and their repercussions for novel targeted agents for pancreatic cancer, and provide a review of recent clinical trials using molecular targeted therapy.