Pancreatic Cancer: From Novel Biomarkers to More Efficient Therapies

A special issue of Current Oncology (ISSN 1718-7729).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 October 2023) | Viewed by 5160

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Guest Editor
Medical Oncology Unit, University Hospital of Parma, 43125 Parma, Italy
Interests: pancreatic cancer; perineural invasion; pain; NGF; neutrophins
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) remains one of the most difficult tumors to treat. Radical surgery is the only potentially curative treatment, though, even in the group of radically resected patients, the five-year survival rate is below 25%. There are several reasons for the dismal prognosis of PDAC, in particular the late onset of symptoms, the biological aggressiveness characterized by early metastasis and the impressive resistance to many anticancer agents.

Unfortunately, progress in the management of both resectable and borderline resectable PDAC, but especially of locally advanced/metastatic disease, has been very modest in recent decades. In fact, chemotherapy regimens (gemcitabine and abraxane or FOLFIRINOX) are the gold standard in the treatment of locally advanced or metastatic PDAC, despite providing only slight improvements in overall survival, reaching at best a few months. No target therapies and no immunotherapy approaches are nowadays clearly effective against PDAC, and no predictive biomarkers of treatment effectiveness are used routinely in clinical practice. Only the implementation of genetic testing can change a very narrow treatment landscape for small subsets of patients with actionable aberrations. In particular, in BRCA1/2 mutated setting, olaparib (PARP inhibitor) might be proposed as a maintenance strategy. Therefore, novel therapies and biomarkers are needed in order to predict effectiveness/resistance to treatments.

In this Special Issue, original research articles and reviews are welcome. Research areas may include (but are not limited to) the following:

  • predictive and prognostic biomarkers in PDAC
  • translational research with the potential to increase the efficacy of actual treatments
  • neoadjuvant therapy in resectable/borderline resectable PDAC
  • adjuvant therapy in PDAC
  • metastatic treatment possibilities in PDAC

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Ingrid Garajová
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • pancreatic cancer
  • biomarker
  • neoadjuvant therapy
  • target therapy

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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23 pages, 7712 KiB  
Article
Cuproptosis-Related Gene DLAT as a Novel Biomarker Correlated with Prognosis, Chemoresistance, and Immune Infiltration in Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma: A Preliminary Study Based on Bioinformatics Analysis
by Zengli Fang, Wei Wang, Yuan Liu, Jie Hua, Chen Liang, Jiang Liu, Bo Zhang, Si Shi, Xianjun Yu, Qingcai Meng and Jin Xu
Curr. Oncol. 2023, 30(3), 2997-3019; https://doi.org/10.3390/curroncol30030228 - 2 Mar 2023
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 2933
Abstract
A novel form of cell death, cuproptosis, was recently identified to be mediated by the binding of copper to lipoylated enzymes of the tricarboxylic acid cycle. Cuproptosis-related genes (CRGs) may play a crucial role in the progression of pancreatic adenocarcinoma (PAAD), which often [...] Read more.
A novel form of cell death, cuproptosis, was recently identified to be mediated by the binding of copper to lipoylated enzymes of the tricarboxylic acid cycle. Cuproptosis-related genes (CRGs) may play a crucial role in the progression of pancreatic adenocarcinoma (PAAD), which often exhibits metabolic reprogramming. In the present study, univariate Cox regression analysis and Kaplan–Meier survival analysis were performed to identify prognostic CRGs. Data from the Cancer Therapeutics Response Portal and the Genomics of Drug Sensitivity in Cancer database were downloaded for drug sensitivity analysis. DLAT was identified as the only prognostic CRG in PAAD (HR = 2.72; 95% CI, 1.10–6.74). Functional enrichment analyses indicated that the basic function of DLAT is closely related to metabolism, and multiple tumor-promoting and immune response-related pathways were enriched in DLAT-high PAAD samples. The influence of DLAT and related genes on cancer immunity was evaluated by comprehensive immune infiltration analyses, which revealed the value of these genes as biomarkers for evaluating the sensitivity to immunotherapy. Additionally, high DLAT expression induced drug resistance, and significantly increased resistance to commonly used chemotherapeutics in PAAD, such as gemcitabine, oxaliplatin, 5-fluorouracil, and irinotecan. In conclusion, our study preliminarily revealed the prognostic value of DLAT, which is correlated with PAAD progression, chemoresistance, and immune infiltration, providing a valuable reference for PAAD treatment. However, our findings need to be confirmed by further in vivo and in vitro experiments. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Pancreatic Cancer: From Novel Biomarkers to More Efficient Therapies)
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11 pages, 656 KiB  
Commentary
Focus on Therapeutic Options for Surgically Resectable Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma Based on Novel Biomarkers
by Alessandro Olivari, Virginia Agnetti and Ingrid Garajová
Curr. Oncol. 2023, 30(7), 6462-6472; https://doi.org/10.3390/curroncol30070475 - 6 Jul 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1594
Abstract
Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma remains associated with a poor prognosis, even when diagnosed at an early stage. Consequently, it is imperative to carefully consider the available therapeutic options and tailor them based on clinically relevant biomarkers. In our comprehensive review, we specifically concentrated on [...] Read more.
Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma remains associated with a poor prognosis, even when diagnosed at an early stage. Consequently, it is imperative to carefully consider the available therapeutic options and tailor them based on clinically relevant biomarkers. In our comprehensive review, we specifically concentrated on the identification of novel predictive and prognostic markers that have the potential to be integrated into multiparametric scoring systems. These scoring systems aim to accurately predict the efficacy of neoadjuvant chemotherapy in surgically resectable pancreatic cancer cases. By identifying robust predictive markers, we can enhance our ability to select patients who are most likely to benefit from neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Furthermore, the identification of prognostic markers can provide valuable insights into the overall disease trajectory and inform treatment decisions. The development of multiparametric scoring systems that incorporate these markers holds great promise for optimizing the selection of patients for neoadjuvant chemotherapy, leading to improved outcomes in resectable pancreatic neoplasia. Continued research efforts are needed to validate and refine these markers and scoring systems, ultimately advancing the field of personalized medicine in pancreatic adenocarcinoma management. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Pancreatic Cancer: From Novel Biomarkers to More Efficient Therapies)
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