Second Line Chemotherapy for Pancreatic Cancer

Pancreatic cancer is a very lethal cancer. It is the 5th most common cause for cancer related mortality in Korea. Most of patients have unresectable pancreatic cancer, and systemic chemotherapy remains the only treatment option for them. Gemcitabine has been adopted as the standard first-line agent for advanced pancreatic cancer, but the progression free survival with gemcitabine is short. Many of patients need further treatment. We reviewed the clinical trials of second line chemotherapy for gemcitabine refractory pancreatic cancer and tried to show currently available treatment options. (Korean J Gastroenterol 2011;57:207-212)