Published online Mar 27, 2024. doi: 10.4240/wjgs.v16.i3.921
Peer-review started: December 19, 2023
First decision: January 15, 2024
Revised: January 25, 2024
Accepted: February 7, 2024
Article in press: February 7, 2024
Published online: March 27, 2024
Processing time: 94 Days and 2 Hours
Pancreatic cancer is one of the most common malignant gastrointestinal tumors worldwide, and its incidence and mortality rates are increasing each year. The current mainstay of pancreatic cancer treatment is surgical resection, and early surgery has been shown to increase the likelihood of successful resection, with postoperative 5-year survival rates ranging from 70% to 85%. However, pancreatic tumors tend to infiltrate surrounding tissues, and early detection and metastasis prevention pose significant challenges. Erlotinib is a tyrosine kinase inhibitor (EGFR antagonist) used as a molecularly targeted therapeutic drug that competitively binds to the catalytic site of the intracellular region of the tyrosine kinase receptor with adenosine triphosphate, inhibiting the phosphorylation reaction.
This study evaluated the clinical efficacy and safety of erlotinib monotherapy combined with chemotherapy for the treatment of advanced pancreatic cancer, with the goal of offering valuable insights into the clinical management of this disease.
This study aimed to evaluate the clinical efficacy and safety of erlotinib monotherapy combined with chemotherapy for the treatment of advanced pancreatic cancer.
Literature searches were conducted in the PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Library databases from inception to November 2023. A meta-analysis of the efficacy and safety of erlotinib monotherapy in combination with chemotherapy for advanced pancreatic cancer was performed using RevMan 5.3 software.
Compared with chemotherapeutic treatment, erlotinib combined with chemotherapy significantly prolonged the progression-free survival time of pancreatic cancer patients. Meanwhile, the overall survival and disease control rate were not significantly favorable. In terms of safety, the erlotinib and chemotherapy combination was associated with a significantly higher risk of diarrhea and rash compared with single-agent chemotherapy. Moreover, the risk of vomiting, regurgitation/anorexia, and infection were not significant in either group.
this study aimed to evaluate the clinical efficacy and safety of erlotinib monotherapy combined with chemotherapy for the treatment of advanced pancreatic cancer, with the goal of offering valuable insights into the clinical management of this disease.
Given the above clinical and methodological heterogeneity and the small sample size used in the stratified analysis, the conclusions of this study need to be verified further in the clinical setting.