Advances and Prospects in the Treatment of Pancreatic Cancer

Abstract

Pancreatic cancer is a highly malignant and incurable disease, characterized by its aggressive nature and high fatality rate. The most common type is pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), which has poor prognosis and high mortality rate. Current treatments for pancreatic cancer mainly encompass surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy, targeted therapy, and combination regimens. However, despite efforts to improve prognosis, and the 5-year survival rate for pancreatic cancer remains very low. Therefore, it’s urgent to explore novel therapeutic approaches. With the rapid development of therapeutic strategies in recent years, new ideas have been provided for treating pancreatic cancer. This review expositions the advancements in nano drug delivery system, molecular targeted drugs, and photo-thermal treatment combined with nanotechnology for pancreatic cancer. It comprehensively analyzes the prospects of combined drug delivery strategies for treating pancreatic cancer, aiming at a deeper understanding of the existing drugs and therapeutic approaches, promoting the development of new therapeutic drugs, and attempting to enhance the therapeutic effect for patients with this disease.

Nano-Drug Delivery Systems Targeting CAFs: A Promising Treatment for Pancreatic Cancer

“…163 Nowadays, the treatment of PC mainly includes surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy, targeted therapy and combined treatment options. 164 Most patients with pancreatic cancer are typically treated with chemotherapy. However, due to the presence of vascular infiltration and distant metastasis, only a small percentage (less than 15%) of these patients are eligible for surgical removal.…”

“…Nanoparticle-targeted therapy can achieve localized release of drugs and reduce damage to normal tissues, leading to minimizing toxic side effects. 164 In contrast, conventional surgery, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy are poorly targeted and often result in systemic side effects, such as infection, nausea, vomiting, and hair loss. Immunotherapy may cause side effects related to the immune response, such as inflammatory reactions and autoimmune diseases.…”

Role of m6A modification in regulating the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway in cancer

“…It is often diagnosed at advanced stages, and effective chemotherapy treatments have not been discovered to date. The majority of pancreatic tumors originate from the ductal epithelium, leading to the development of PDAC [ 127 , 128 ]. The occurrence of pancreatic cancer is increasing annually at a rate of 0.5–1.0%.…”

Recent advances in sonodynamic therapy strategies for pancreatic cancer

“…Pancreatic cancer is a prevalent malignant tumor of the digestive tract that is known for having one of the poorest prognoses among all malignancies (Siegel et al, 2023; Sung et al, 2021). The 5‐year survival rate for pancreatic cancer patients following diagnosis is approximately 10% (Duan et al, 2023; Jin, 2019). Traditional treatment for pancreatic cancer involves surgical treatment combined with radiotherapy and chemotherapy (Yu et al, 2021).…”