[Pharmacotherapy for pancreatic cancer: Difficulties and prospects]

The incidence of pancreatic cancer has been obviously increasing in China over the last decade, however, those patients with advanced pancreatic cancer are suffering from limited treatment strategies and poor clinical prognosis. Chemotherapy improved the overall survival of cases with advanced pancreatic cancer to 8-11 months, and erlotinib brought an additional survival of only 10 days. In this article, the recent progresses on advanced pancreatic cancer were reviewed at the genetic and molecular sub-typing levels, and corresponding clinical transformation studies summarized, some of which have showed encouraging clinical prospects but others have failed due to the complexity of pancreatic cancer. By learning from experiences in the successful therapeutic strategies and lessons from the failed cases, we hope to optimize future clinical research from bedside to bench.