Current status in chemotherapy for advanced pancreatic adenocarcinoma

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDA) is one of the most lethal types of cancer in the United States. Surgical resection remains the only curative treatment, but fewer than 20% of patients qualify as candidates. The past two decades saw major changes in the treatment of advanced PDA, a shift of standard protocol from 5-fluorouracil to gemcitabine and gemcitabine-based combinations, the introduction of molecular target therapy and multi-agent regimens. However, even with advancements in medicine, PDA is still extremely resistant to currently available regimens, which results in poor prognosis, with only 5.2% of patients alive at three years. This provides a challenge to scientists as they seek to find the best active regimen with the least side-effects. In this article, we review the current recommended guidelines from the National Comprehensive Cancer Network. In addition, we highlight major clinical trials since 2011.