Cited by 44Pancreatic and Hepatic Oncology ResearchPARP inhibition in cancer therapyCancer Genomics and Diagnostics

Targeting DNA damage repair pathways in pancreas cancer

Open access
Crowley, Fionnuala, Park, Wungki, O’Reilly, Eileen M.·2021·Cancer and Metastasis Reviews

Abstract

Pancreas ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is the third most common cause of cancer death in the USA. While other cancers with historically poor prognoses have benefited from new immunotherapies and targeted agents, the 5-year survival rate for PDAC patients has remained static. The accessibility to genomic testing has improved in recent years, and it is now clear that PDAC is a heterogenous disease, with a subset of patients harboring actionable mutations. There are several targeted therapies approved by the Food and Drug administration (FDA) in PDAC: EGFR inhibitor erlotinib (combined with gemcitabine) in unselected patients, TRK inhibitors larotrectinib and entrectinib for patients with NTRK fusion mutation, the PD-1 inhibitor pembrolizumab for mismatch repair-deficient patients, and the poly-ADP-ribose polymerase (PARP) inhibitor olaparib in patients with germline BRCA mutation as a maintenance therapy. DNA damage repair (DDR) is paramount to genomic integrity and cell survival. The defective repair of DNA damage is one of the hallmarks of cancer, and abnormalities in DDR pathways are closely linked with the development of malignancies and upregulation of these pathways linked with resistance to treatment. The prevalence of somatic and germline mutations in DDR pathways in metastatic PDAC is reported to be approximately 15-25%. Patients with DDR gene alterations benefit from a personalized approach to treatment. Recently, the POLO trial demonstrated a progression-free survival (PFS) benefit in metastatic PDAC patients with a germline BRCA1/2 mutation treated with maintenance olaparib following platinum-based induction chemotherapy. This was the first phase 3 randomized trial to establish a biomarker-driven approach in the treatment of PDAC and establishes a precedent for maintenance therapy in PDAC. The review herein aims to outline the current treatment landscape for PDAC patients with DDR gene-mutated tumors, highlight novel therapeutic approaches focused on surmounting tumor resistance, and explore new strategies which may lead to an expansion in the number of patients who benefit from these targeted treatments.

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Authors
Crowley, F., Park, W., & O’Reilly, E. M.
Affiliations
  • Mount Sinai Hospital (US)
  • Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (US)
Venue
Cancer and Metastasis Reviews
Published
2021-08-17
Volume
40
Issue
3
Pages
891-908
ISSN
  • 0167-7659 (ISSN-L)
  • 1573-7233
OpenAlex
W3194003153
Cited by
43
References
127
Citations by year
2026: 6 · 2025: 11 · 2024: 6 · 2023: 12 · 2022: 5 · 2021: 3
FWCI
0.79
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Cancer and Metastasis Reviews (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
Funders
National Cancer Institute (P30CA008748, K12CA184746)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Oncology › Pancreatic and Hepatic Oncology Research
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Oncology › PARP inhibition in cancer therapy
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Cancer Research › Cancer Genomics and Diagnostics
Keywords
pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma, DNA repair, PARP inhibitors, olaparib, BRCA mutations, germline mutations, targeted therapy, treatment resistance, maintenance therapy, mismatch repair deficiency, NTRK fusion, EGFR inhibitors, pembrolizumab, biomarker-driven treatment
MeSH terms
Poly(ADP-ribose) Polymerase Inhibitors, DNA Damage, DNA Repair, Humans, Pancreatic Neoplasms, Carcinoma, Pancreatic Ductal

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