By 2030, pancreatic cancer is projected to be the second-leading cause of cancer death, according to an estimate by SSAT and the Americas Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary Association (AHPBA). The same groups are sponsoring a joint symposium on Sunday titled Updates and New Horizons in Pancreatic Cancer.

“We really we hope to bring attendees up to date on what’s new and what’s promising in pancreatic cancer treatment,” said symposium co-moderator Rebecca Minter, MD, the Alvin Baldwin Jr. chair in the department of surgery at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas. “There’s a lot of exciting and innovative work that’s happening with respect to precision medicine and more effective combination chemotherapy, as well as other techniques such as irreversible electroporation [IRE].”

The symposium will begin with a lecture titled “Neoadjuvant Therapy for Resectable Disease” by Matthew Katz, MD, FACS, associate professor of surgical oncology at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston.

“We’re taking more patients to surgery and finding some don’t have residual disease after neoadjuvant treatment. So what is the role of chemotherapy for resectable patients?” Dr. Minter said. “We used to take all resectable patients straight to surgery. Now we’re taking a more thoughtful approach of delivering chemotherapy first. Dr. Katz, who is a leading authority, will review the data to support this strategy.”

The next presenter, Nita Ahuja, MD, director of the Sarcoma and Peritoneal Surface Malignancy Program and professor of surgery at Johns Hopkins Medicine, Baltimore, MD, will present a lecture titled “Current State of Precision Medicine for Pancreas Cancer.”

“There is a lot of exciting research in this area, which Dr. Ahuja will speak to,” Dr. Minter said. “Understanding the roles of genomics, proteomics, metabolomics, etc. in the management of pancreatic cancer will be key. Are there roles for molecular targeted therapies? Can we tailor our treatments for pancreatic cancer?”

Robert C.G. Martin II, MD, PhD, chief of surgical oncology at the University of Louisville School of Medicine, KY, will then present “Role of IRE for Pancreatic Cancer.”

“Techniques such as IRE are exciting because they allow more patients to be brought to surgery,” Dr. Minter said. “What role will IRE have to play going forward, both with respect to borderline resectable patients as well as for patients where margin-accentuation with IRE may be helpful? Dr. Martin has led the way in the development of IRE as a therapeutic strategy for pancreatic cancer and can speak to how it fits into the treatment paradigm.”

The session’s final speaker, Cristina R. Ferrone, MD, assistant professor of surgery at Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, will present “Management of Locally Advanced Disease.”

“Dr. Ferrone will discuss the evolving definition of resectable cancer,” Dr. Minter said. “We’re really redefining what that means currently. Dr. Ferrone’s publications on the management of patients with locally advanced cancer and the role of surgery have really changed the way we think about what is and what isn’t resectable, so this will be an enlightening talk.”

Please refer to the DDW Mobile App or the Program section in Monday’s DDW Daily News for additional details on this and other DDW^® events.