Pancreatic cancer is one of the most lethal malignancies. Difficult resecability, locally aggressive behaviour, tendency to early disease spread, and relative refractoriness to radiotherapy and systemic therapies all contribute to dismal prognosis of patients with pancreatic cancer.
Despite that, significant advances have been achieved in the last decade both in locoregional and in systemic therapies. FOLFIRINOX and gemcitabine/nab-paclitaxel regimens prolong survival in comparison with gemcitabine monotherapy or 5-fluorouracil/leucovorin.
Further improvements in patient outcomes are expected based on progress in locoregional therapies, molecular stratification of patients, and possibly identification and close follow-up of patients with hereditary risk factors.