Supportive care in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma

Abstract

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is one of the cancers with poorest prognosis and represents the third leading cause of cancer-related deaths in Western countries. Despite advances in diagnostic procedures and treatment, diagnosis is made in most cases when the disease is locally advanced or metastatic. Supportive care aims to improve symptoms, reduce hospital admission rates, and preserve quality of life. Proper symptomatic management is critical to allow administration of chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Symptomatic management should be accomplished in a multidisciplinary fashion. Its primary aims include relief of biliary or duodenal obstruction, prevention and/or treatment of thromboembolic disease, and control cancer-related pain. Nutritional support and optimal replacement therapy in patients with endocrine and/or exocrine insufficiency, is mandatory. This manuscript highlights the most significant problems faced when caring for patients with advanced PDAC and provides an evidence-based approach to symptomatic management.

Keywords: Biliary obstruction; Cachexia; Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma; Supportive care; Symptoms; Thromboembolic disease.