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Review
. 2021 Feb;48(1):57-68.
doi: 10.1053/j.seminoncol.2021.02.007. Epub 2021 Apr 17.

Future of immunotherapy in pancreas cancer and the trials, tribulations and successes thus far

Winston Wong  1 , Emily Alouani  1 , Alexander Wei  1 , Yun Kyoung Ryu  1 , John A Chabot  1 , Gulam A Manji  2
Affiliations
Review

Future of immunotherapy in pancreas cancer and the trials, tribulations and successes thus far

Winston Wong et al. Semin Oncol. 2021 Feb.

Abstract

Pancreas ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) has a dismal prognosis with a 5-year survival rate of 10%. Currently, chemotherapy remains the standard of care for systemic treatment. Immunotherapy with checkpoint inhibitors unfortunately has not been found to be effective in the treatment of PDAC to date, likely due to the highly desmoplastic and immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment (TME). Treatment targeting pathways against the immunosuppressive mechanisms of PDAC are of mounting interest to improve outcomes in PDAC. In this review, we discuss prior efforts and the current state of immunotherapy in PDAC. We will also review the emerging targets and treatments with significant clinical potential for the treatment of PDAC such as: CD40 pathway, the adenosine pathway, the CXCR4/CXCL12 axis, the CCR2/CCL2 axis, IDO pathway, and others.

Keywords: Immunotherapy; Pancreatic cancer.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflicts of interest Conflicts of Interest for Dr. Manji: Roche/Genentech - Research Funding and Advisory Board. CEND Pharmaceuticals - Advisory Board. BioLineRx - Research Funding and Consultant. Regeneron - Research Funding. MERCK - Research Funding. Arcus Biosciences - Research Funding and Advisory Board.

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