Pancreatic Cancer in Young Adults: Can Innovative Approaches Lead to Better Outcomes?
Menée aux Etats-Unis à partir des données d'un centre de cancérologie portant sur 450 patients atteints précocement d'un cancer du pancréas diagnostiqué entre 2008 et 2018, cette étude identifie les caractéristiques cliniques et génomiques des tumeurs et analyse la survie des patients
Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC)is currently the third leading cause of cancer death in the US,accounting for 7.8% of all cancer-related mortality in 2020(1).Despite improvements in imaging, surgical techniques and therapeutics, the 5-year survival for PDAC is still only 10%, reflecting the multifaceted challenges in treating this recalcitrant tumor.Cytotoxic chemotherapy has improved outcomes,but it is apparent that to make huge strides in improvingsurvival we will likely need to reevaluate our current approach. Sung et al (2)and others have observed a rising incidence in multiple gastrointestinal malignancies in younger patients over time and unfortunately this trend is seen for PDAC as well, with Tavakkoli et al describing an increase in incidence of 44% and 55% among black and white patients, respectively, ages 30-39years(3).Theanalysis by Varghese, et al(4)in this issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Instituteis,to date,one of the largest molecular analyses reported and shines a light on this important subgroup of patients withinPDAC, providinginsight into the unique molecular and demographic characteristics as well as outcomes in a cohort of younger individuals with PDAC (defined as age at diagnosis of <50years) in the United States.
Journal of the National Cancer Institute , commentaire en libre accès, 2020