Spotlight on liposomal irinotecan for metastatic pancreatic cancer: patient selection and perspectives

Wonhee Woo, Edward T Carey, Minsig Choi, Wonhee Woo, Edward T Carey, Minsig Choi

Abstract

Pancreatic cancer is a highly lethal disease, where the mortality closely matches increasing incidence. Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is the most common histologic type that tends to metastasize early in tumor progression. For metastatic PDAC, gemcitabine had been the mainstay treatment for the past three decades. The treatment landscape has changed since 2010, and current first-line chemotherapy includes triplet drugs like FOLFIRINOX (folinic acid, 5-fluorouracil, irinotecan, and oxaliplatin), and doublet agents like nab-paclitaxel and gemcitabine. Nanoliposomal encapsulated irinotecan (nal-IRI) was developed as a novel formulation to improve drug delivery, effectiveness, and limit toxicities. Nal-IRI, in combination with leucovorin-modulated fluorouracil (5-FU/LV), was found in a large randomized phase III clinical trial (NAPOLI-1) to significantly improve overall survival in patients who progressed on gemcitabine-based therapy. This review will focus on the value of using nal-IRI, toxicities, recent clinical experiences, and tools to improve patient outcomes in this setting.

Keywords: liposomal irinotecan; nal-IRI; pancreatic cancer; pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma; refractory cancer.

Conflict of interest statement

Disclosure Minsig Choi has served as consultant and speaker for Ipsen and Celgene. The authors report no other conflicts of interest in this work.

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