Pancreatic cancer — Outlook: targeted therapy

Abstract

Pancreatic cancer is a devastating disease characterized by almost identical incidence and mortality rates. Since this tumour is mostly diagnosed in an advanced stage there is usually no option for a curative surgical resection. In addition, pancreatic cancers known to be resistant to conventional treatment modalities such as chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Therefore, novel strategies for targeting these tumors are urgently needed. The increasing knowledge on the underlying pathogenetic mechanisms has led to the identification of surface receptor molecules that initiate intracellular signalling cascades upon ligand binding, thus leading to tumor progression. Targeting these receptors or their secreted ligands is therefore an attractive new approach for cancer therapy. The epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and the vascular endothelial growth factor receptor (VEGFR) are transmembrane tyrosine kinase receptors which can be targeted by various compounds such as antibodies or small molecule inhibitors. In addition, various molecules targeting proteins secreted by pancreatic cancers such as matrix metalloproteinases (MMP’s) or intracellular oncogenic signalling components such as the farnesyl-transferase have been proposed as potential new approaches for targeted cancer therapy. The use of these agents alone or in combination with conventional therapeutic regimens is currently being evaluated and shows first promising results for pancreatic cancer therapy.