Onkológia 3/2012

Systemic therapy of pancreatic cancer

Pancreatic cancer is the fourth commenst cause of cancer-related death in men. Most patients with pancreatic cancer are diagnosed at advaced, non-resectable stage. Late detection, early metastases, difficult surgical approached, cancer resistant to systemic chemo – and radiotherapy – all contribute to its infaust prognosis. Only about 5 % of patients will live 5 years after diagnosis. Gemcitabine – based combination treatments is the standard for advanced pancreatic cancer. The combination of fluorouracil, folinic acid, irinotecan and oxaliplatin led to median survival of 11 months. No standard second-line treatment exists for pancreatic cancer.

Keywords: pancreatic cancer, systemic chemotherapy, gemcitabine, oxaliplatin, irinotecan.