Noelle K. LoConte

TL;DR: The NCCN Guidelines for Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma focus on diagnosis and treatment with systemic therapy, radiation therapy, and surgical resection, as well as on management of locally advanced unresectable and metastatic disease.

Abstract: Pancreatic cancer is the fourth leading cause of cancer-related death among men and women in the United States. A major challenge in treatment remains patients' advanced disease at diagnosis. The NCCN Guidelines for Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma provides recommendations for the diagnosis, evaluation, treatment, and follow-up for patients with pancreatic cancer. Although survival rates remain relatively unchanged, newer modalities of treatment, including targeted therapies, provide hope for improving patient outcomes. Sections of the manuscript have been updated to be concordant with the most recent update to the guidelines. This manuscript focuses on the available systemic therapy approaches, specifically the treatment options for locally advanced and metastatic disease.

TL;DR: Among Medicare patients identified with stage II colon cancer, either with or without poor prognostic features, adjuvant chemotherapy did not substantially improve overall survival, and this lack of benefit must be considered in treatment decisions for similar older adults with colon cancer.

TL;DR: The successful completion of this collaborative study demonstrates the feasibility of conducting quality-controlled trials for borderline resectable pancreatic cancer in the cooperative group setting in the multi-institutional setting.

TL;DR: No overall difference in 5-year mortality was seen between right- and left-sided colon cancers when analysis was adjusted for multiple patient, disease, comorbidity, and treatment variables, but within stage III, right-sided cancers had higher mortality.