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Review
. 2020 Mar 10;11(10):924-941.
doi: 10.18632/oncotarget.27518.

Prognostic and predictive factors in pancreatic cancer

Emanuela Dell'Aquila  1 , Claudia Angela Maria Fulgenzi  1 , Alessandro Minelli  1 , Fabrizio Citarella  1 , Marco Stellato  1 , Francesco Pantano  1 , Marco Russano  1 , Maria Concetta Cursano  1 , Andrea Napolitano  1 , Tea Zeppola  1 , Bruno Vincenzi  1 , Giuseppe Tonini  1 , Daniele Santini  1
Affiliations
Review

Prognostic and predictive factors in pancreatic cancer

Emanuela Dell'Aquila et al. Oncotarget. .

Abstract

Pancreatic cancer is one of the leading causes of cancer death worldwide. Its high mortality rate has remained unchanged for years. Radiotherapy and surgery are considered standard treatments in early and locally advanced stages. Chemotherapy is the only option for metastatic patients. Two treatment regimens, i. e. the association of 5-fluorouracil- irinotecan-oxaliplatin (FOLFIRINOX) and the association of nab-paclitaxel with gemcitabine, have been shown to improve outcomes for metastatic pancreatic adenocarcinoma patients. However, there are not standardized predictive biomarkers able to identify patients who benefit most from treatments. CA19-9 is the most studied prognostic biomarker, its predictive role remains unclear. Other clinical, histological and molecular biomarkers are emerging in prognostic and predictive settings. The aim of this review is to provide an overview of prognostic and predictive markers used in clinical practice and to explore the most promising fields of research in terms of treatment selection and tailored therapy in pancreatic cancer.

Keywords: CA19-9; FOLFIRINOX; gemcitabine-abraxane; metastatic pancreatic cancer; predictive and prognostic factors.

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Conflict of interest statement

CONFLICTS OF INTEREST The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Summary of prognostic factors of metastatic pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma: The figure shows on the left side the predictive markers discussed in the article and on the right the prognostic ones.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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