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F1000 Faculty Reviews are written by members of the prestigious . They are F1000 Faculty commissioned and are peer reviewed before publication to ensure that the final, published version is comprehensive and accessible. The reviewers who approved the final version are listed with their names and affiliations. AbstractPancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma is one of the deadliest solid tumor malignancies and is projected to become a leading cause of cancer-related death in coming years. Improving quality of life and survival amongst these patients will require new ideas and novel therapies in a multidisciplinary approach. This review will cover the most recent advances in the comprehensive treatment of pancreatic cancer and place them within a historical context when necessary. Treatment of all disease stages will be discussed, but the focus is on systemic therapy as novel drugs and new treatment combinations enter the clinic. This will include more aggressive chemotherapy in earlier disease stages, approved uses for immunotherapy, and targetable mutations. In addition, negative trials of importance and controversial topics will be noted. Neoptolemos JP, Stocken DD, Friess H, et al.: A randomized trial of chemoradiotherapy and chemotherapy after resection of pancreatic cancer. N Engl J Med. 2004; 350(12): 1200-10. PubMed Abstract | Publisher Full Text 4. Oettle H, Neuhaus P, Hochhaus A, et al.: Adjuvant chemotherapy with gemcitabine and long-term outcomes among patients with resected pancreatic cancer: the CONKO-001 randomized trial. JAMA. 2013; 310(14): 1473-81. PubMed Abstract | Publisher Full Text 5. Neoptolemos JP, Palmer DH, Ghaneh P, et al.: Comparison of adjuvant gemcitabine and capecitabine with gemcitabine monotherapy in patients with resected pancreatic cancer (ESPAC-4): a multicentre, open-label, randomised, phase 3 trial. Lancet. 2017; 389(10073): 1011-24. PubMed Abstract | Publisher Full Text | F1000 Recommendation 6. Conroy T, Hammel P, Hebbar M, et al.: FOLFIRINOX or Gemcitabine as Adjuvant Therapy for Pancreatic Cancer. N Engl J Med. 2018; 379(25): 2395-406. PubMed Abstract | Publisher Full Text | F1000 Recommendation 7. Tempero MA, Reni M, Riess H, et al.: APACT: phase III, multicenter, international, open-label, randomized trial of adjuvant nab-paclitaxel plus gemcitabine (nab-P/G) vs gemcitabine (G) for surgically resected pancreatic adenocarcinoma. JCO. 2019; 37: 4000. Publisher Full Text 8. Conroy T, Desseigne F, Ychou M, et al.: FOLFIRINOX versus gemcitabine for metastatic pancreatic cancer. N Engl J Med. 2011; 364(19): 1817-25. PubMed Abstract | Publisher Full Text | F1000 Recommendation 9. Von Hoff DD, Ervin T, Arena FP, et al.: Increased survival in pancreatic cancer with nab-paclitaxel plus gemcitabine. N Engl J Med. 2013; 369(18): 1691-703. PubMed Abstract | Publisher Full Text | Free Full Text | F1000 Recommendation 10. Wang-Gillam A, Li CP, Bodoky G, et al.: Nanoliposomal irinotecan with fluorouracil and folinic acid in metastatic pancreatic cancer after previous gemcitabine-based therapy (N...

Background: Approximately 10% of patients with SCLC develop a paraneoplastic syndrome (PNS). Neurologic PNS are thought to improve prognosis, which we hypothesized is related to increased tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes and immune recognition. Methods: We queried 2,512,042 medical records from a single institution to identify patients who have SCLC with and without PNS and performed manual, retrospective chart review. We then performed multiplexed fluorescence immunohistochemistry and automated quantitative analysis (AQUA Technology) on tumors to assess CD3, CD4, and CD8 T cell infiltrates and programmed death 1 (PD-1)/ programmed death ligand 1 (PD-L1) interactions. T cell infiltrates and PD-1/PD-L1 interaction scores were compared among patients with neurologic PNS, endocrinologic PNS, and a control group without PNS. Clinical outcomes were analyzed using the Kaplan-Meier method and Cox proportional hazards models. Results: We evaluated 145 SCLC patients: 55 with PNS (25 neurologic and 30 endocrinologic) and 90 controls. Patients with neurologic PNS experienced improved overall survival compared to patients with endocrinologic PNS and controls (median overall survival of 24 months versus 12 months versus 13 months, respectively). Of the 145 patients, we identified tumor tissue from 34 patients that was adequate for AQUA analysis. Among 37 specimens from these 34 patients, patients with neurologic PNS had increased T cell infiltrates (p ¼ 0.033) and PD-1/PD-L1 interaction (p ¼ 0.014) compared to tumors from patients with endocrinologic PNS or controls. Conclusions: Tumor tissue from patients with SCLC with neurologic PNS showed increased tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes and PD-1/PD-L1 interaction consistent with an inflamed tumor microenvironment.

• This trial evaluating a novel plant extract, PBI-05204, did not meet its primary endpoint of overall survival but did show signals of efficacy in heavily pretreated mPDA. • PBI-05204 was generally well tolerated, with the most common side effects related to treatment being vomiting (23.7%), nausea (18.4%), decreased appetite (18.4%), and diarrhea (15.8%). • Additional trials are needed to explore the role of PBI-05204 in cancer treatment.

For localized disease, standard of care includes resection followed by adjuvant chemotherapy ± chemoradiation. Recently, a report was published supporting the use of doublet therapy with gemcitabine and capecitabine (as opposed to gemcitabine monotherapy), which prompted a practice-changing update to major treatment guidelines. Multiple trials using neoadjuvant treatment, novel therapies, and different forms of radiation are ongoing. Although pancreatic cancer is an active area of research, outcomes remain dismal. Clinical trials will need to be more robust and innovative to drastically improve survival statistics.