Patients with BRCA-1 and BRCA-2 germ line mutations are at an increased risk of developing pancreatic adenocarcinoma (PAC). In particular, the BRCA-2 mutation has been associated with a relative risk of developing PAC of 3.51. The BRCA-2 protein is involved in repair of double-stranded DNA breaks. Recent reports have suggested that in the setting of impaired DNA repair, chemotherapeutic agents that induce DNA damage, such as platinum-based antineoplastic drugs (platins) and poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase inhibitors (PARP inhibitors), have improved efficacy. However, because of the relative rarity of BRCA-related PAC, studies evaluating such agents in this setting are scarce. Patients with a known BRCA-2 mutation and PAC were retrospectively reviewed. Ten patients with PAC and BRCA-2 mutation were identified. Four patients (40%) were of Ashkenazi Jewish descent. Seven patients (70%) received platinum agents, two (20%) received mitomycin-C, one (10%) received a PARP inhibitor, and seven (70%) received a topoisomerase-I inhibitor. Overall, chemotherapy was well tolerated with expected side effects. Patients with a BRCA-2 mutation and PAC represent a group with a unique biology underlying their cancer. Chemotherapies such as platinum derivatives, mitomycin-C, topoisomerase-I inhibitors, and PARP inhibitors targeting DNA require further investigation in this population. Genetic testing may guide therapy in the future.

Background. Pancreatic tumors are rare and could arise from either the exocrine (ductal and acinar cells) or the endocrine (neuroendocrine cells) components of the pancreas. In some instances, the occurrence of pancreatic tumors comprising both acinar cells and neuroendocrine cells, with neuroendocrine cells making up more than 30% of the tumor, has been identified. This unique entity has been referred to as mixed acinar-neuroendocrine carcinoma (MANEC). Only about 20 such cases have been reported in the literature. Case Report. We report an interesting case of MANEC with neuroendocrine cell predominance in a woman presenting with epigastric pain secondary to a pancreatic mass with acinar and endocrine differentiation. She underwent surgical resection of the tumor and was offered adjuvant treatment chemotherapy with carboplatin, etoposide, and radiotherapy for positive tumor resection margins. Conclusions. Given the paucity of the cases of MANEC, continuous reporting of these cases when identified should be encouraged to aid oncologists in understanding the disease and help establish standardized management.

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Therapeutic options for locally advanced pancreatic cancer (LAPC) include concurrent chemoradiation, induction chemotherapy followed by chemoradiation or systemic therapy alone. The original Gastro-Intestinal Study Group and Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group studies defined fluorouracil (5-FU) with concurrent radiation therapy followed by maintenance 5-FU until progression, as the standard therapy for this subset of patients. Although this combined therapy has been demonstrated to increase local control and median survival from 8 to 12 months, almost all patients succumb to the disease secondary to either local or distant recurrence. Our earlier studies provided a strong rationale for the use of capecitabine in combination with concurrent radiation followed by maintenance capecitabine therapy. To report our clinical experience, we retrospectively evaluated our patients who were treated with maintenance capecitabine. We reviewed the medical records of patients with LAPC who received treatment with capecitabine and radiation, followed by a 4-week rest, then capecitabine alone 1,000 mg twice daily (ECOG performance status 2 or age >70 years) or 1,500 mg twice daily for 14 days every 3 weeks until progressive disease. We treated 43 patients between September 2004 and September 2012. The population consisted of 16 females and 25 males, with a median age of 64 years (range, 38–80 years). Patients received maintenance capecitabine for median duration of 9 months (range, 3–18 months). The median overall survival (OS) for these patients was 17 months, with two patients still living and receiving therapy. The 6-month survival rate was 91% (39/43), 1-year survival rate was 72% (31/43) and 2-year OS rate was 26% (11/43). Grade 3 or 4 toxicity was observed rarely: Hand-foot syndrome (HFS) in two patients, diarrhea in one patient and peripheral neuropathy in one patient, and there was no mortality directly related to treatment. Capecitabine maintenance therapy following chemoradiation in LAPC offers an effective, tolerable and convenient alternative to 5-FU. To the best of our knowledge, this is the largest study of its kind which has determined the safety and efficacy of capecitabine maintenance therapy for patients with LAPC.