Pancreatic cancer is the most devastating of all
cancers with an extremely poor prognosis. In US alone, over 50 000 new cases of
pancreatic cancer are reported annually, and about the same number succumb to it, making
pancreatic cancer the third most common cause of
cancer deaths. Most patients with
pancreatic cancer present with advanced disease, which cannot be resected surgically, and for these patients
chemotherapy is the only option. Even patients who undergo resection require adjuvant
therapy to decrease the risk of recurrence. Since the 1950s, a variety of different agents, like
antimetabolites,
nucleoside analogs, and
DNA intercalating compounds, have been used against
pancreatic cancer, alone or in combination, with little improvement in the survival statistics. The current article reviews the evolution of
chemotherapy for
pancreatic cancer, and discusses some novel therapeutic options that are emerging in recent times, with special emphasis on
Minnelide, a novel HSP70 inhibitor, which is currently in clinical trials.
RECENT FINDINGS: Approaches towards developing
therapies for
pancreatic cancer have evolved tremendously over the past decade. Research has shown that apart from the inherent drug resistance, drug delivery to
pancreatic cancer has also posed a major challenge. The extensive desmoplastic stroma of
pancreatic cancer is believed to create inordinately high interstitial fluid pressures leading to vascular collapse and substantial barrier to perfusion of chemotherapeutics, thus creating an additional layer of protection for
pancreatic cancer. Recent research thus is focused not only on understanding the biology and developing strategies to target
cancer cells, but also is targeted towards the depletion of stroma in order to ensure better delivery of chemotherapeutic compounds to the
tumor.
SUMMARY: The current article describes the novel
therapies that are constantly being evaluated to address and overcome the challenges that make
pancreatic cancer a difficult disease to treat.