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Review
. 2018 Apr 20;9(30):21613-21627.
doi: 10.18632/oncotarget.25085.

Targeted therapies in the management of locally advanced and metastatic pancreatic cancer: a systematic review

Anjali V Sheahan  1 , Andrew V Biankin  2 , Christopher R Parish  3 , Levon M Khachigian  4
Affiliations
Review

Targeted therapies in the management of locally advanced and metastatic pancreatic cancer: a systematic review

Anjali V Sheahan et al. Oncotarget. .

Abstract

Pancreatic cancer has a dismal prognosis particularly in patients presenting with unresectable tumors. We performed a bibliometric analysis of clinical trials for pancreatic cancer conducted between 2014-2016 focusing on patients that presented with unresectable (locally advanced or metastatic) tumors. We discuss a range of studies that employed FOLFIRINOX, the gemcitabine + nab-paclitaxel combination and studies that used molecularly-targeted therapy. Major areas of focus have been dual targeting of EGFR and VEGFR, immunotherapy or a multimodal approach - combining chemotherapy with radiotherapy. We also point out the need for molecular selection for low prevalence subtypes. Key insights sourced from these pivotal trials should improve clinical outcomes for this devastating cancer.

Keywords: bibliometric analysis; clinical trials; pancreatic cancer.

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Conflict of interest statement

CONFLICTS OF INTEREST AVB is in receipt of grants, honoraria and/or advisory board fees from MRC, Wellcome Trust, Cancer Research UK, Pancreatic Cancer UK, Chief Scientists Office of the Scottish Government, Pancreatic Cancer Action Network, Celgene, Clovis Oncology, Cure Forward, AstraZeneca, Elstar Therapeutics, Sagely Health and Abcodia. The other authors have no disclosure or conflicts of interest to declare.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Flow chart depicting how bibliometric information was processed in the course of this review
Figure 2
Figure 2. Proportion of studies in 2014-2016 that employed conventional chemotherapies
Gemcitabine- and fluoropyrimidine-based therapies were highly utilized in clinical trials, with increases seen in the employment of the latter over these 3 years. There were also increases in the utilization of the FOLFIRINOX and gemcitabine+nab-paclitaxel combinations in the same time period.
Figure 3
Figure 3. Proportion of studies in 2014-2016 that employed molecularly-targeted chemotherapies
Data is displayed in the order of the popularity of the target (the proportion of studies that utilized an inhibitor of that target). Molecularly targeted therapies were used in the majority of clinical trials investigating therapeutics in advanced pancreatic cancer patients in this timeframe.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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