PDAC is a lethal disease which is usually diagnosed at an advanced stage and has an extremely poor prognosis.  

 

Advancements in treatment regimens have improved survival rates, but early diagnosis is crucial for improving outcomes and awareness of risk factors is vital for early diagnosis. Treatment selection depends on several factors, and these should be considered alongside the efficacy and safety profiles of the different chemotherapy regimens. 

 

This 2-part micro learning provides an overview of the risk factors, diagnostic tools and treatment options available to date for different patient groups.

PDAC is a lethal disease which is usually diagnosed at an advanced stage and has an extremely poor prognosis.  

 

Advancements in treatment regimens have improved survival rates, but early diagnosis is crucial for improving outcomes and awareness of risk factors is vital for early diagnosis. Treatment selection depends on several factors, and these should be considered alongside the efficacy and safety profiles of the different chemotherapy regimens. 

 

This 2-part micro learning provides an overview of the risk factors, diagnostic tools and treatment options available to date for different patient groups.

Module 1 of this 2-part micro learning discusses the most reported symptoms and different risk factors of which physicians should be aware, as well as the main diagnostic tools available, and provides an overview of treatment options available to date for different patient groups.

 

Clinical takeaways

  • Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is usually diagnosed at an advanced, incurable stage due to non-specific symptoms and has an extremely poor prognosis

  • Recognition of symptoms and known risk factors is important for an early diagnosis

  • Systemic chemotherapy is the standard treatment for mPDAC, but molecularly targeted treatments and immunotherapies may have a role for specific patients

  • Choice of treatment depends on several factors, including patients' performance status and co-morbidities

 

Micro learning programmes consist of bite-sized resources that each take less than 5 minutes to watch or read. If you have a little more time, take the short assessment and earn a CME credit in just 30 minutes.  

 

This programme is also featured on the ReachMD website here: Metastatic Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma (PDAC): From Diagnosis to Treatment

  • Be able to identify mPDAC early signs and symptoms to engage in the appropriate testing strategy for an early diagnosis 
  • Be able to differentiate the efficacy and safety profiles of chemotherapies for mPDAC
  • Recognise how to optimise chemotherapies for patients with mPDAC, and understand the optimal combination of treatments 

Prof. Efrat Dotan is the executive medical director for Penn Medicine Ann B. Barshinger Cancer Institute in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. She graduated from the Technion Institute of Technology Medical School in Israel and moved to the US to pursue her specialized training. She completed her residency at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York, and her hematology/oncology fellowship at Fox Chase Cancer Center. Prof. Dotan specializes in the management of patients with gastrointestinal malignancies, specifically pancreatic cancer. Her research interest is in development of new treatment options for patients with gastrointestinal cancers. She is the PI for multiple clinical trials in this arena. Prof. Dotan is a member of the Gastrointestinal Malignancies Committee of the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG), serves as the PI for multiple studies and is co-chair of the NCI pancreatic task force. Dr Dotan’s other interest is in the management of older patients with cancer, developing treatment strategies and tools to improve the care of this patient population. She has led multiple research projects evaluating the care of older patients with gastrointestinal malignancies. She is a senior member of the Cancer and Aging Research Group, the chair of the Older Adult Oncology Guidelines for NCCN and the chair of the geriatric oncology working group for ECOG.

Prof. Efrat Dotan has received financial support/sponsorship for research support, consultation, or speaker fees from the following companies:

Agenus, Amgen, Ipsen, Merck, MERUS, Olympus, Pfizer, TME Biopharmaceuticals

Dr. Shubham Pant is a Professor in the Department of Gastrointestinal (GI) Medical Oncology with a joint appointment in the Department of Investigational Cancer Therapeutics (Phase I Center) at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. Dr. Pant is recognised as an international expert in GI cancers with an emphasis on pancreatic and biliary cancers and Phase 1 trials.

 

Dr. Pant's research focuses on novel immunotherapeutic approaches and targeted therapies in GI cancers, including devising novel ways to target the KRAS mutation. He has been the lead/co-lead of several global practice-changing studies, including 'Zanidatamab for HER2-amplified, unresectable, locally advanced or metastatic biliary tract cancer (HERIZON-BTC-01): a multicenter, single-arm, phase 2b study'; 'Adagrasib in advanced solid tumors harboring a KRASG12C mutation' and 'Erdafitinib in patients with advanced solid tumors with FGFR alterations (RAGNAR): an international, single-arm, phase 2 study'; amongst others. He has over 100 peer-reviewed publications and has published in high-impact journals, including The Lancet, Lancet Oncology, and Journal of Clinical Oncology. He is frequently invited to present his research at national and international meetings. He collaborates on numerous grants, including R01 and SPORE grants funded by the National Institute of Health. Dr. Pant serves on the National Cancer Institute (NCI) Pancreas Task Force and the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network's (PanCan) Scientific and Medical Advisory Board. He also helped draft the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Metastatic Pancreatic Cancer Guidelines, which provide evidence-based recommendations for physicians. He is also the editor of the book Pancreatic Cancer: Current Therapeutics and Future Directions (Publisher: Springer).

Prof. Shubham Pant has received financial support/sponsorship for research support, consultation, or speaker fees from the following companies:

Alligator Bioscience, Amal Therapeutics, Arcus, AskGene Pharma, Astellas, AstraZeneca, BioNTech, Boehringer Ingelheim, BPGBio, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Elicio, Framewave, Immuneering, ImmunoMET, Ipsen, Janssen, Jazz, Lilly, Mirati Therapeutics, NGM Pharmaceuticals, Nihon Medi-Physics Co, Ltd, Novartis, Pfizer, Revolution Medicine, Theriva Biosciences, USWorldmeds, Zymeworks

Module two of this 2-part micro learning reviews the key trial data for the combination chemotherapy strategies used as 1st and 2nd line treatments that have led to improved survival rates for patients with metastatic PDAC.

 

Clinical takeaways

  • Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is usually diagnosed at an advanced, incurable stage and has an extremely poor prognosis 

  • Systemic chemotherapy is the standard treatment for metastatic PDAC (mPDAC), but molecularly targeted treatments and immunotherapies may have a role for specific patients 

  • Treatment selection depends on several factors, including patients' performance status and co-morbidities. These should be considered alongside the efficacy and safety profiles of the different chemotherapy regimens 

  • Treatment strategies can be implemented to manage toxicities associated with the different chemotherapy regimens to enable a patient to stay on treatment for optimal efficacy 

 

Micro learning programmes consist of bite-sized resources that each take less than 5 minutes to watch or read. If you have a little more time, take the short assessment and earn CME credit in just 30 minutes.  

 

This programme is also featured on the ReachMD website here: Metastatic Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma (PDAC): From Diagnosis to Treatment

  • Understand the different mechanisms of action (MoA) of chemotherapies for mPDAC 
  • Be able to differentiate the efficacy and safety profiles of chemotherapies for mPDAC 
  • Recognise how to optimise chemotherapies for patients with mPDAC, and understand the optimal combination of treatments
  • Be able to recognise the causes of toxicities and have an awareness of strategies that can be used to improve tolerability and manage side effects whilst maintaining optimal efficacy 

Prof. Efrat Dotan is the executive medical director for Penn Medicine Ann B. Barshinger Cancer Institute in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. She graduated from the Technion Institute of Technology Medical School in Israel and moved to the US to pursue her specialized training. She completed her residency at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York, and her hematology/oncology fellowship at Fox Chase Cancer Center. Prof. Dotan specializes in the management of patients with gastrointestinal malignancies, specifically pancreatic cancer. Her research interest is in development of new treatment options for patients with gastrointestinal cancers. She is the PI for multiple clinical trials in this arena. Prof. Dotan is a member of the Gastrointestinal Malignancies Committee of the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG), serves as the PI for multiple studies and is co-chair of the NCI pancreatic task force. Dr Dotan’s other interest is in the management of older patients with cancer, developing treatment strategies and tools to improve the care of this patient population. She has led multiple research projects evaluating the care of older patients with gastrointestinal malignancies. She is a senior member of the Cancer and Aging Research Group, the chair of the Older Adult Oncology Guidelines for NCCN and the chair of the geriatric oncology working group for ECOG.

Prof. Efrat Dotan has received financial support/sponsorship for research support, consultation, or speaker fees from the following companies:

Agenus, Amgen, Ipsen, Merck, MERUS, Olympus, Pfizer, TME Biopharmaceuticals

Dr. Shubham Pant is a Professor in the Department of Gastrointestinal (GI) Medical Oncology with a joint appointment in the Department of Investigational Cancer Therapeutics (Phase I Center) at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. Dr. Pant is recognised as an international expert in GI cancers with an emphasis on pancreatic and biliary cancers and Phase 1 trials.

 

Dr. Pant's research focuses on novel immunotherapeutic approaches and targeted therapies in GI cancers, including devising novel ways to target the KRAS mutation. He has been the lead/co-lead of several global practice-changing studies, including 'Zanidatamab for HER2-amplified, unresectable, locally advanced or metastatic biliary tract cancer (HERIZON-BTC-01): a multicenter, single-arm, phase 2b study'; 'Adagrasib in advanced solid tumors harboring a KRASG12C mutation' and 'Erdafitinib in patients with advanced solid tumors with FGFR alterations (RAGNAR): an international, single-arm, phase 2 study'; amongst others. He has over 100 peer-reviewed publications and has published in high-impact journals, including The Lancet, Lancet Oncology, and Journal of Clinical Oncology. He is frequently invited to present his research at national and international meetings. He collaborates on numerous grants, including R01 and SPORE grants funded by the National Institute of Health. Dr. Pant serves on the National Cancer Institute (NCI) Pancreas Task Force and the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network's (PanCan) Scientific and Medical Advisory Board. He also helped draft the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Metastatic Pancreatic Cancer Guidelines, which provide evidence-based recommendations for physicians. He is also the editor of the book Pancreatic Cancer: Current Therapeutics and Future Directions (Publisher: Springer).

Prof. Shubham Pant has received financial support/sponsorship for research support, consultation, or speaker fees from the following companies:

Alligator Bioscience, Amal Therapeutics, Arcus, AskGene Pharma, Astellas, AstraZeneca, BioNTech, Boehringer Ingelheim, BPGBio, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Elicio, Framewave, Immuneering, ImmunoMET, Ipsen, Janssen, Jazz, Lilly, Mirati Therapeutics, NGM Pharmaceuticals, Nihon Medi-Physics Co, Ltd, Novartis, Pfizer, Revolution Medicine, Theriva Biosciences, USWorldmeds, Zymeworks

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This educational programme is supported by an Independent Educational Grant from Ipsen USA.
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Meet the experts Independent IME approved
Programme summary
Share this programme
This educational programme is supported by an Independent Educational Grant from Ipsen USA.
Supporter Acknowledgement
This educational programme is supported by an Independent Educational Grant from Ipsen USA.
Endorsement
I agree that this educational programme:

Was valuable to me

1/4
Brought to you by
GI CONNECT

GI CONNECT is an initiative of COR2ED, supported by Independent Educational Grants from Bayer, Ipsen, BeiGene Europe, Pierre Fabre Laboratories, Amgen and AstraZeneca US.  

Meet the experts Independent IME approved

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