Muhammad Wasif Saif, Gregory T Brennan, Valerie Relias
Metastatic pancreatic cancer continues to be a difficult disease to treat because of its aggressive nature, advanced stage atpresentation and lack of treatment options. There is a need for the development of new agents directed against novel targetsto improve outcomes for these patients. At the 2014 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Gastrointestinal CancersSymposium phase I/II trials provided information on three novel strategies for treating metastatic pancreatic cancer.Immunotherapy in the form of a vaccine (GVAX) followed with an immune stimulator (CRS-207) showed extended survival(Abstract #177). A monoclonal antibody (NEO-102) targeting MUC5AC also showed activity and was well tolerated (Abstract#243). A heat shock protein 90 (HSP90) inhibitor (ganetespib) showed modest effects but was well tolerated making itavailable for use with conventional chemotherapy (Abstract #297). The details of these presentations will be discussed.
