Pancreatic biomarkers: Could they be the answer?

Table 5 “Classic” predictive biomarkers for “classic” chemotherapies with potential interest in pancreatic cancer

Predictive biomarker	Drug	Theoretical impact1	Studies performed in pancreatic cancer (predictive outcome)?	Impact confirmed in pancreatic cancer?	Notes	Ref.
Thymidylate synthase	5FU	When negative, better response to 5FU	Yes	No	Predictive value in PDA not validated	[55,72-74]
DPD	5FU	When mutation DPD, more 5FU related toxicity	Yes	No	Survival benefit with S1 and DPD mutation	[73]
Topoisomerase I	Irinotecan	When positive, better response to Irinotecan	No	No	No data in pancreatic cancer	-
RRM1	Gemcitabine	When positive, better response to gemcitabine	Yes	Yes	Low expression correlates with better response	[47-49]
ERCC1	Oxaliplatin	When negative, better response to Oxaliplatin	Yes	No	No predictive effect	[49,51]
XRCC1	Oxaliplatin	When negative, better response to Oxaliplatin	No	No	No data in pancreatic cancer	-
EGFR/kras	Erlotinib	Erlotinib effective when EGFR mutation/kras wild type present	Yes	No	No predictive effect	[43,44]
PALB2	Mitomycin C	Mitomicin C effective when PALB2 mutation present	No	Yes	Case report	[75]
BRCA2	PARP inhibitors	PARP inhibitors effective when BRCA2 mutation present	Yes	Yes	Phase I trial	[76]

¹This impact is suggested in other malignancies.