Onkologie. 2008:2(2):103-106

Pancreatic cancer treatment in the 21. century

Martin Šafanda¹, Martin Oliverius²

¹ Oddělení klinické onkologie Nemocnice na Homolce, Praha

² Institut klinické a experimentální medicíny (IKEM), Praha

Pancreatic adenocarcinoma is one of the deadliest malignancies. Almost 95 % of patients diagnosed with the disease will die from it, more than half within 6 months. In the Czech Republic 1777 cases were diagnosed in the year 2005. In the same year 1 808 patients died. Treatment outcomes are disappointing. Surgery remains the only modality with currative potential. Five years survival after radical resection is about 25 % of patients. Nowadays, Gemcitabine is a standard of care in locally advanced and metastatic disease. Adjuvant chemotherapy prolongs disease free and overall survival. The role of chemoradiation remains controversial. Novel targeted therapies are associated with modest improvement.

Keywords: pancreatic adenocarcinoma, gemcitabine, adjuvant treatment, chemoradiotherapy, targeted therapy

Published: August 1, 2008  Show citation