Systemic therapy is the backbone of management for nearly all patients with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), including those with resectable disease, in whom chemotherapy is given before and/or after surgery. Universal germline testing and somatic tumor profiling are now required before therapy is selected. They identify candidates for platinum-based therapy, PARP inhibitor maintenance, tumor-agnostic targeted agents, and immunotherapy.[1][2] For fit patients (ECOG 0–1) with metastatic disease, gemcitabine plus nab-paclitaxel, (modified) FOLFIRINOX, and NALIRIFOX are NCCN category 1 preferred first-line options, and none has proven superior to the others. Poorer performance status shifts treatment toward single agents or best supportive care.[1][3] After upfront resection, 6 months of adjuvant modified FOLFIRINOX is preferred for fit patients. Neoadjuvant therapy is standard for borderline resectable disease.[4][5] In August 2026 the FDA approved daraxonrasib, an oral RAS(ON) inhibitor, for metastatic disease after at least one prior systemic therapy or in patients who are not candidates for multiagent therapy.[6]
Germline testing is recommended for every patient with confirmed pancreatic cancer, using a comprehensive panel that includes ATM, BRCA1, BRCA2, CDKN2A, MLH1, MSH2, MSH6, PALB2, PMS2, STK11, and TP53.[1]
Somatic tumor profiling is recommended for all candidates for anticancer therapy. Next-generation sequencing is preferred, with RNA sequencing to detect gene fusions. Circulating tumor DNA (liquid biopsy) is acceptable when tissue is insufficient.[1][7]
Microsatellite instability-high (MSI-H), mismatch repair deficiency (dMMR), and high tumor mutational burden (TMB-H)
Approximately 10–25% of patients harbor an actionable alteration.[2][7]
Early-onset PDAC: treatment guidelines are the same as for later-onset disease. However, germline DNA damage repair variants and actionable somatic alterations are more frequent in early-onset disease. In one cohort, patients receiving matched targeted therapy had longer overall survival (OS), which reinforces the need for sequencing in this group.[8]
No randomized trial directly compares all three category 1 regimens. Regimen choice depends on performance status, comorbidity, expected toxicity, and patient preference.[1][3]
Under NCCN criteria, "good performance status" means ECOG 0–1 plus adequate biliary drainage and nutritional status. All three are needed before committing to a triplet regimen.[1]
Patients with response or stable disease after 4–6 months of first-line therapy may take a chemotherapy holiday or move to maintenance therapy.[1]
Germline BRCA1/2 carriers without progression after at least 16 weeks of first-line platinum: maintenance olaparib 300 mg orally twice daily is preferred.[1][13]
Progression-free survival (PFS) improved: 7.4 vs 3.8 months (HR 0.53).
No statistically significant OS benefit: median about 19 months in both arms.
Time off chemotherapy and long-term survival in a subset favored olaparib, and quality of life was preserved.
ASCO frames the choice between continued chemotherapy and olaparib as shared decision-making, given the absence of an OS benefit and the placebo comparator in POLO.[3]
Rucaparib is an option for germline or somatic BRCA1/2 or PALB2 alterations after platinum-based therapy.[1]
Non-platinum maintenance options include capecitabine after FOLFIRINOX or continued gemcitabine-based therapy.[1]
Sequencing depends on which agents were used before and whether the interval since prior therapy is at least 6 months or shorter.[1]
After gemcitabine-based first-line therapy: 5-FU/leucovorin + liposomal irinotecan is category 1.[1][3]
NAPOLI-1 regimen: liposomal irinotecan 70 mg/m² (free-base equivalent) + leucovorin 400 mg/m² + 5-FU 2400 mg/m² over 46 h every 2 weeks.[14]
NAPOLI-1 outcome: OS 6.1 vs 4.2 months (HR 0.67).[14][3]
After fluoropyrimidine-based first-line therapy: gemcitabine + nab-paclitaxel is an option.[1]
Oxaliplatin-based second-line therapy: trial data conflict. OFF (CONKO-003) was positive, but mFOLFOX6 (PANCREOX) was negative and possibly harmful. Oxaliplatin should not be substituted for liposomal irinotecan after gemcitabine.[3][15][16]
FDA indication: adults with metastatic pancreatic adenocarcinoma after at least one prior systemic therapy, or who are not candidates for multiagent systemic therapy.[6]
NCCN lists it as category 1 subsequent therapy for good or intermediate performance status.[1]
Approval was based on the randomized phase 3 RASolute 302 trial versus second-line chemotherapy. Median OS was 13.2 vs 6.7 months.[6][17]
Dose: 300 mg orally once daily until progression or unacceptable toxicity.[18]
Common adverse reactions: rash, diarrhea, stomatitis, nausea, fatigue, vomiting, abdominal pain, edema, decreased appetite, and hemorrhage.[19]
Biomarker-Directed Targeted Therapy and Immunotherapy
All patients who recover after upfront resection and did not receive preoperative therapy should be offered 6 months of adjuvant chemotherapy, unless there is a medical or surgical contraindication.[4]
Modified FOLFIRINOX is preferred for fit patients (ECOG 0–1) based on PRODIGE-24/CCTG PA6:[4][21][22]
Primary analysis: median OS 54.4 vs 35.0 months vs gemcitabine.
Final 5-year analysis: 5-year OS 43.2% vs 31.4%.
Biomarker analysis (2026): in PRODIGE-24, the mFOLFIRINOX benefit was confined to KRAS-mutant tumors, and HRR/BRCA status was not predictive in the adjuvant setting. These findings are hypothesis-generating.[23]
Adjuvant regimens after upfront resection
Regimen
Dose and schedule
Comments
Modified FOLFIRINOX (preferred, ECOG 0–1)
Oxaliplatin 85 mg/m², leucovorin 400 mg/m², irinotecan 150 mg/m², 5-FU 2.4 g/m² over 46 h; every 14 days × 12 cycles
Borderline resectable disease: neoadjuvant chemotherapy, with or without radiation therapy, followed by surgery is the standard of care. Randomized evidence shows superior OS compared with upfront surgery.[5][25]
Resectable disease: upfront surgery followed by adjuvant therapy remains standard. Neoadjuvant therapy is an option, particularly with high-risk features:[1][5]
Preferred NCCN neoadjuvant regimens: gemcitabine + nab-paclitaxel or (m)FOLFIRINOX, each with or without consolidative chemoradiation. Platinum-based regimens are preferred for BRCA1/2 or PALB2 carriers.[1]
No neoadjuvant regimen is clearly superior:[25][26]
PREOPANC-2 found no OS difference between neoadjuvant FOLFIRINOX and gemcitabine-based chemoradiotherapy.
SWOG S1505, ESPAC-5F, and NORPACT-1 showed no regimen superiority.
CASSANDRA suggested PAXG was superior to mFOLFIRINOX.
A practical advantage of neoadjuvant sequencing is guaranteed systemic exposure. About one-third of patients undergoing upfront surgery never receive adjuvant therapy because recovery is slow.[5][25]
First-line systemic options are the same as for metastatic disease: gemcitabine + nab-paclitaxel, (m)FOLFIRINOX, or NALIRIFOX. This is largely extrapolated from metastatic trials.[1]
In selected patients after at least 4–6 cycles of induction chemotherapy
Upfront, for poorly controlled pain or local obstruction
In LAP07, adding conventional chemoradiation after gemcitabine-based induction did not improve OS. It did improve local control and delayed the need to resume therapy.[1][27]
Adjuvant radiation remains controversial and is under trial evaluation. It is reserved for high-risk features such as positive margins, with chemotherapy given before chemoradiation.[1]
Neoadjuvant radiation may increase margin-negative resection and local control. It should follow neoadjuvant chemotherapy.[1]
Trials conflict on whether adjuvant or neoadjuvant radiation improves OS.[1][5]
Optimal first-line regimen: no randomized trial directly compares the three category 1 regimens. Meta-analytic data suggest similar OS, so the best regimen is unresolved.[12][5]
BRCA maintenance: olaparib versus continued chemotherapy is unsettled. POLO used a placebo comparator and showed no OS benefit.[13][3]
Neoadjuvant regimen: the optimal regimen for resectable and borderline resectable disease remains undefined, as trial results conflict.[25][26]
RAS inhibition: durability of KRAS G12C inhibitors is limited. Daraxonrasib is being studied in the first-line metastatic setting (RASolute 303, alone or with gemcitabine/nab-paclitaxel) and in the adjuvant setting (RASolute 304). Both are investigational uses.[16][19]
Order germline and somatic testing, including an RNA fusion panel, at diagnosis. Results change first-line choice (platinum for BRCA/PALB2 carriers) and open targeted and immunotherapy options. Skipping profiling can miss rare but highly actionable NTRK, NRG1, or RET fusions or MSI-H disease.[1][28]
Platinum response is a clinical surrogate for HRD and PARP inhibitor sensitivity.[1][15]
Avoid full-dose classic FOLFIRINOX in patients with marginal performance status, poor biliary drainage, or malnutrition. Modified FOLFIRINOX is the practical default triplet.[1][3]
NALIRIFOX has not been shown superior to FOLFIRINOX. It was compared only with gemcitabine/nab-paclitaxel.[1][12]
Maintenance olaparib offers PFS and time-off-chemotherapy benefit, not proven OS benefit.[13][3]
After gemcitabine-based therapy, liposomal irinotecan/5-FU/leucovorin is the evidence-based second-line regimen. Do not substitute mFOLFOX6, which was negative in PANCREOX.[3][16]
↑ 7.07.1Zhen DB, Safyan RA, Konick EQ, Nguyen R, Prichard CC, Chiorean EG (2023). "The role of molecular testing in pancreatic cancer". Therap Adv Gastroenterol. 16: 17562848231171456. doi:10.1177/17562848231171456.
↑Castet F, Fabregat-Franco C, Castillo G, et al. (2023). "Clinical and genomic characterisation of early-onset pancreatic cancer". Eur J Cancer. 194: 113338. doi:10.1016/j.ejca.2023.113338.
↑Conroy T, Desseigne F, Ychou M, Bouché O, Guimbaud R, Bécouarn Y, Adenis A, Raoul JL, Gourgou-Bourgade S, de la Fouchardière C, Bennouna J, Bachet JB, Khemissa-Akouz F, Péré-Vergé D, Delbaldo C, Assenat E, Chauffert B, Michel P, Montoto-Grillot C, Ducreux M (2011). "FOLFIRINOX versus gemcitabine for metastatic pancreatic cancer". N Engl J Med. 364 (19): 1817–25. doi:10.1056/NEJMoa1011923. PMID21561347.
↑ 10.010.1Von Hoff DD, Ervin T, Arena FP, Chiorean EG, Infante J, Moore M, Seay T, Tjulandin SA, Ma WW, Saleh MN, Harris M, Reni M, Dowden S, Laheru D, Bahary N, Ramanathan RK, Tabernero J, Hidalgo M, Goldstein D, Van Cutsem E, Wei X, Iglesias J, Renschler MF (2013). "Increased survival in pancreatic cancer with nab-paclitaxel plus gemcitabine". N Engl J Med. 369 (18): 1691–1703. doi:10.1056/NEJMoa1304369.
↑Wainberg ZA, Melisi D, Macarulla T, Pazo Cid R, Chandana SR, De La Fouchardière C, Dean A, Kiss I, Lee WJ, Goetze TO, Van Cutsem E, Paulson AS, Bekaii-Saab T, Pant S, Hubner RA, Xiao Z, Chen H, Benzaghou F, O'Reilly EM (2023). "NALIRIFOX versus nab-paclitaxel and gemcitabine in treatment-naive patients with metastatic pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (NAPOLI 3): a randomised, open-label, phase 3 trial". Lancet. 402 (10409): 1272–1281. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(23)01366-1. PMID37708904Check |pmid= value (help).
↑ 12.012.112.2Nichetti F, Rota S, Ambrosini P, et al. (2024). "NALIRIFOX, FOLFIRINOX, and Gemcitabine With Nab-Paclitaxel as First-Line Chemotherapy for Metastatic Pancreatic Cancer: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis". JAMA Netw Open. 7 (1): e2350756. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2023.50756.
↑ 13.013.113.213.3Kindler HL, Hammel P, Reni M, Van Cutsem E, Macarulla T, Hall MJ, Park JO, Hochhauser D, Arnold D, Oh DY, Reinacher-Schick A, Tortora G, Algül H, O'Reilly EM, Bordia S, McGuinness D, Cui K, Locker GY, Golan T (2022). "Overall Survival Results From the POLO Trial: A Phase III Study of Active Maintenance Olaparib Versus Placebo for Germline BRCA-Mutated Metastatic Pancreatic Cancer". J Clin Oncol. 40 (34): 3929–3939. doi:10.1200/JCO.21.01604.
↑ 14.014.1Wang-Gillam A, Li CP, Bodoky G, Dean A, Shan YS, Jameson G, Macarulla T, Lee KH, Cunningham D, Blanc JF, Hubner RA, Chiu CF, Schwartsmann G, Siveke JT, Braiteh F, Moyo V, Belanger B, Dhindsa N, Bayever E, Von Hoff DD, Chen LT (2016). "Nanoliposomal irinotecan with fluorouracil and folinic acid in metastatic pancreatic cancer after previous gemcitabine-based therapy (NAPOLI-1): a global, randomised, open-label, phase 3 trial". Lancet. 387 (10018): 545–57. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(15)00986-1. PMID26615328.
↑ 15.015.1Wang J, Yang J, Narang A, et al. (2024). "Consensus, debate, and prospective on pancreatic cancer treatments". J Hematol Oncol. 17 (1): 92. doi:10.1186/s13045-024-01613-x.
↑American Association for Cancer Research. FDA Approves Daraxonrasib as First RAS Inhibitor for Pancreatic Cancer. August 2026. https://www.aacr.org/?p=1025799
↑Fivaz M, Bornand A, Corro C, Koessler T, Genoud V (2025). "Actionable Mutations in Pancreatic Cancer: Where Targeted Therapies Are Making a Difference". BMJ Open Gastroenterol. 12 (1): e001925. doi:10.1136/bmjgast-2025-001925.
↑ 21.021.1Conroy T, Hammel P, Hebbar M, Ben Abdelghani M, Wei AC, Raoul JL, et al. (2018). "FOLFIRINOX or Gemcitabine as Adjuvant Therapy for Pancreatic Cancer". N Engl J Med. 379 (25): 2395–2406. doi:10.1056/NEJMoa1809775. PMID30575490.
↑Conroy T, Castan F, Lopez A, Turpin A, Ben Abdelghani M, Wei AC, Mitry E, Biagi JJ, Evesque L, Artru P, Lecomte T, Assenat E, Bauguion L, Ychou M, Bouché O, Monard L, Lambert A, Hammel P (2022). "Five-Year Outcomes of FOLFIRINOX vs Gemcitabine as Adjuvant Therapy for Pancreatic Cancer: A Randomized Clinical Trial". JAMA Oncol. 8 (11): 1571–1578. doi:10.1001/jamaoncol.2022.3829. PMID36048453Check |pmid= value (help).
↑Witz A, Conroy T, Lambert A, et al. (2026). "Impact of Tumor Genomic Profile on Adjuvant Chemotherapy Efficacy in Resected Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma: Results From the PRODIGE-24/CCTG PA6 Study". J Clin Oncol. 44 (26): 2517–2528. doi:10.1200/JCO-25-02508.
↑Neoptolemos JP, Palmer DH, Ghaneh P, Psarelli EE, Valle JW, Halloran CM, et al. (2017). "Comparison of adjuvant gemcitabine and capecitabine with gemcitabine monotherapy in patients with resected pancreatic cancer (ESPAC-4): a multicentre, open-label, randomised, phase 3 trial". Lancet. 389 (10073): 1011–1024. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(16)32409-6. PMID28129987.
↑ 25.025.125.225.3Janssen QP, van Dam JL, van Bekkum ML, et al. (2025). "Neoadjuvant FOLFIRINOX Versus Neoadjuvant Gemcitabine-Based Chemoradiotherapy in Resectable and Borderline Resectable Pancreatic Cancer (PREOPANC-2): A Multicentre, Open-Label, Phase 3 Randomised Trial". Lancet Oncol. 26 (10): 1346–1356. doi:10.1016/S1470-2045(25)00363-8.
↑ 26.026.1Reni M, Macchini M, Orsi G, et al. (2026). "Preoperative mFOLFIRINOX Versus PAXG for Stage I-III Resectable and Borderline Resectable Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma (PACT-21 CASSANDRA): Results of the First Randomisation Analysis of a Randomised, Open-Label, 2 × 2 Factorial Phase 3 Trial". Lancet. 406 (10522): 2945–2956. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(25)01685-X.
↑Hammel P, Huguet F, van Laethem JL, Goldstein D, Glimelius B, Artru P, Borbath I, Bouché O, Shannon J, André T, Mineur L, Chibaudel B, Bonnetain F, Louvet C (2016). "Effect of Chemoradiotherapy vs Chemotherapy on Survival in Patients With Locally Advanced Pancreatic Cancer Controlled After 4 Months of Gemcitabine With or Without Erlotinib: The LAP07 Randomized Clinical Trial". JAMA. 315 (17): 1844–53. doi:10.1001/jama.2016.4324. PMID27139057.
↑Reddy NK, Subbiah V (2024). "Redefining Pancreatic Cancer Management With Tumor-Agnostic Precision Medicine". Carcinogenesis. 45 (11): 836–844. doi:10.1093/carcin/bgae066.