Future of immunotherapy in pancreas cancer and the trials, tribulations and successes thus far

Winston Wong; Emily Alouani; Alexander Wei; Yun Kyoung Ryu; John A Chabot; Gulam A Manji

doi:10.1053/j.seminoncol.2021.02.007

Future of immunotherapy in pancreas cancer and the trials, tribulations and successes thus far

Semin Oncol. 2021 Feb;48(1):57-68. doi: 10.1053/j.seminoncol.2021.02.007. Epub 2021 Apr 17.

Authors

Winston Wong¹, Emily Alouani¹, Alexander Wei¹, Yun Kyoung Ryu¹, John A Chabot¹, Gulam A Manji²

Affiliations

¹ Division of Hematology and Oncology, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, and New York Presbyterian Hospital, New York, NY.
² Division of Hematology and Oncology, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, and New York Presbyterian Hospital, New York, NY. Electronic address: gam2140@cumc.columbia.edu.

PMID: 33965249
DOI: 10.1053/j.seminoncol.2021.02.007

Abstract

Pancreas ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) has a dismal prognosis with a 5-year survival rate of 10%. Currently, chemotherapy remains the standard of care for systemic treatment. Immunotherapy with checkpoint inhibitors unfortunately has not been found to be effective in the treatment of PDAC to date, likely due to the highly desmoplastic and immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment (TME). Treatment targeting pathways against the immunosuppressive mechanisms of PDAC are of mounting interest to improve outcomes in PDAC. In this review, we discuss prior efforts and the current state of immunotherapy in PDAC. We will also review the emerging targets and treatments with significant clinical potential for the treatment of PDAC such as: CD40 pathway, the adenosine pathway, the CXCR4/CXCL12 axis, the CCR2/CCL2 axis, IDO pathway, and others.

Keywords: Immunotherapy; Pancreatic cancer.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Carcinoma, Pancreatic Ductal* / drug therapy
Humans
Immunotherapy
Pancreatic Neoplasms* / drug therapy
Tumor Microenvironment