Pancreatic Cancer

Trends in pancreatic mortality have gone in opposite directions for blacks and whites during the last few decades, a pattern which cannot be explained by known risk factors, according to researchers from the American Cancer Society.

Researchers at Kaiser Permanente were able to achieve complete histopathologic response in more than 40% of initially unresectable patients with pancreatic adenocarcinoma who underwent prolonged preoperative chemotherapy and were subsequently able to undergo surgical resection.

Patients with a high body mass index prior to being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer had reduced survival from the disease and were more likely to present with late-stage cancer, according to the results of a recently published study.

The combination of two chemotherapy agents-nab-paclitaxel and gemcitabine-improves survival for patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer, according to the results of a phase III trial.

The patient is an otherwise healthy 45-year-old female who presented to her primary care physician with 6 weeks of increasing left upper quadrant abdominal pain with radiation to the back. She underwent an abdominal ultrasound, which revealed a large cystic abdominal mass.

Using blood samples of pancreatic cancer and chronic pancreatitis patients, researchers in Japan have developed a metabolomics-based test that may be an easy and noninvasive way to detect pancreatic cancer.

Advanced urothelial cancer remains, along with pancreatic cancer, one of the last solid tumors for which essentially no progress has been made for 25 years. It’s time to think out of the box, and to develop novel and creative ways of overcoming the real, but not insurmountable, logistical challenges to carrying out the needed clinical trials.

This review covers symptoms and complications in patients with late-stage pancreatic cancer, including venous thromboembolism, anorexia-cachexia, pain, and depression.

Optimal supportive care for patients with pancreatic cancer is essential. Putting these interventions into practice requires that oncologists and oncology teams incorporate innovations at both the individual and the system level.

FDA approval of palliative chemotherapy is largely based on disease-free and overall survival, quality of life, and symptom reduction; the latter should be routinely measured by the treating oncologist. Physician assessments of symptoms underreport symptom severity compared to patient-reported symptom assessments.

An oral fluoropyrimidine, S-1, used as an adjuvant therapy in Japanese patients with resected pancreatic cancer has shown an improved overall survival compared with the standard adjuvant therapy gemcitabine (Gemzar).

CancerNetwork discusses the diagnosis and treatment of metastatic pancreatic cancer with Dr. Diane Simeone, who is involved in both pancreatic cancer clinical trials as well as research to better characterize important pancreatic cancer pathways and identify biomarkers for the disease.

Schrader and colleagues provide four compelling examples of the power of genetic testing to impact medical management for probands and their family members.

In this article, we use a case-based approach to focus on the hereditary aspects of the most common GI cancers, including pancreatic, gastric, and colon cancer.

A combined dual inhibition of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and c-MET is showing promise in preventing tumor invasion and metastasis. The data thus far are in a laboratory model of pancreatic neuroendocrine cancer.

Researchers in Sweden who analyzed several prospective studies found an increased risk of pancreatic cancer associated with processed meat consumption. They also found that eating red meat is linked to pancreatic cancer among men.

Inherited mutations in the ataxia telangiectasia mutated (ATM) gene increase the odds of developing pancreatic cancer according to a new study. While there is predisposition for pancreatic cancer with up to 10% of cases occurring among families with a history of the disease, the genetic basis for this had not been previously discovered.

The review of surgical management of neuroendocrine tumors (NETs) of the gastrointestinal tract, authored by Huang, Poultsides, and Norton, is both comprehensive and accessible for readers of all backgrounds.

This article reviews the surgical management of gastrointestinal neuroendocrine tumors, including the preoperative control of hormonal symptoms, extent of resection required, postoperative outcomes, and differing management strategies as determined by whether the tumor has arisen sporadically or as part of a familial disorder, such as multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1.

Tumors of neuroendocrine origin arising from the pancreas, luminal gastrointestinal tract, and other tissues differ greatly in their malignant potential.

In this article, we review the data surrounding the use of chemotherapy (CT) and chemoradiotherapy (CRT) in patients with resectable pancreatic cancer.

Surgical resection remains the sole modality that has proven capable of "curing" pancreatic cancer.

Sunitinib (Sutent) has been approved as the first anti-VEGF (vascular endothelial growth factor) agent for neuroendocrine tumors (NET) in patients with unresectable locally advanced or metastatic disease.

This review highlights the current status of the research in targeting the insulin growth factor pathway with a specific focus on gastrointestinal cancers.

There are a number of important issues regarding neoadjuvant and adjuvant therapy for pancreatic cancer that must be considered as we design clinical trials in an effort to improve survival for this disease.