Current update of treatment strategies for borderline resectable pancreatic cancer: a narrative review

Abstract

Background and objective: Borderline resectable pancreatic cancer (BRPC) is a tumor that infiltrates into the large blood vessels, with a high probability that the tumor will remain after surgical resection. To date, there has been no confirmed treatment strategy for BRPC. However, high-level studies, such as those using the intention-to-treat analysis, have recently been published. This review aimed to update the current status of treatment strategies for BRPC.

Methods: We searched for studies, including those investigating patients with BRPC, either treated by upfront surgery or with neoadjuvant treatment and reported the R0 resection rate and overall survival using an intention-to-treat analysis.

Key content and findings: Consequently, 22 articles were identified. Twelve were prospective studies. Six studies compared neoadjuvant therapy with upfront surgery, and both the R0 resection rate and overall survival in patients who underwent upfront surgery were significantly worse than in those who underwent neoadjuvant treatment in all studies. Six studies evaluated neoadjuvant chemotherapy, while 15 studies neoadjuvant chemoradiation. No reports showed the superiority or inferiority of the two methods, and the optimal regimen was not determined in either treatment. The high-precision radiation therapy techniques have been studied, but the optimal method and dose fractionation were unclear.

Conclusions: The current standard of care for the BRPC is neoadjuvant therapy. Although the optimal regimen of neoadjuvant therapy was not determined, several prospective trials are underway to identify the optimal neoadjuvant treatment.

Keywords: Borderline resectable pancreatic cancer (BRPC); intention-to-treat analysis; neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy; neoadjuvant chemotherapy; upfront surgery.