New approaches for pancreatic cancer in Japan.

Pancreatic cancer is the fifth leading cause of cancer-related mortality in Japan, with an estimated annual incidence rate of approximately 20,000 cases. Even in patients with resectable disease, the long-term outcome remains unsatisfactory due to early recurrence after resection. However, surgical resection has offered the only curative strategy for pancreatic cancer. Currently available chemotherapeutic agents have little impact on survival, although the development of gemcitabine has renewed interest in clinical research for pancreatic cancer. To further improve the prognosis of patients with pancreatic cancer, the development of more effective nonsurgical treatment is essential. Studies to identify more effective treatments, such as chemotherapy, interventional therapy and gene therapy, are ongoing in Japan. The expanding understanding of molecular and genetic biology should facilitate research to develop novel molecular-targeted agents and to establish individualized therapy regimens for this disease.