Novel clinical strategies for the treatment of pancreatic carcinoma.

Pancreatic carcinoma ranks as the eighth most frequent type of solid tumour arising worldwide yet it represents the fourth most frequent cause of death. This discrepancy reflects the current lack of effective treatment available for the pancreatic cancer patient and highlights the urgent need for new therapeutic principles in this area. The last five years have seen an increasing number of novel approaches both in the pre-clinical area as well as in clinical trials for pancreatic cancer treatments. This review summarizes these new developments and attempts to rationalize the possibilities available for the patient at the beginning of the new millennium.