Published online Oct 28, 2014. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v20.i40.14733
Revised: April 29, 2014
Accepted: May 25, 2014
Published online: October 28, 2014
Processing time: 245 Days and 14.1 Hours
Pancreatic cancer remains one of the leading causes of cancer related death worldwide with an overall five-year survival of less than 5%. Potentially curative surgery, which alone can improve 5-year survival to 10%, is an option for only 10%-20% of patients at presentation owing to local invasion of the tumour or metastatic disease. Adjuvant chemotherapy has been shown to improve 5-year survival to 20%-25% but conflicting evidence remains with regards to chemoradiation. In this article we review the current evidence available from published randomised trials and discuss ongoing phase III trials in relation to adjuvant therapy in pancreatic cancer.
Core tip: This paper discusses every major trial undertaken in the field of adjuvant therapy in pancreatic cancer. The evolution of chemotherapeutic regimes over the past 25 years and the controversy surrounding chemoradiation are analysed, in addition to looking at the phase III trials currently in progress.