As part of the Research Seminar Series hosted by the TRIPM, Dr. Guido Giordano, Medical Oncology Unit, Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, University of Foggia, School of Medicine, Foggia, Italy. Dr Guido delivered an insightful lecture titled “The Evolutionary Landscape of Pancreatic Cancer Treatment: From Therapeutic Nihilism to Precision Medicine.” His talk explored how the field has evolved from limited treatment options to more sophisticated and personalized therapies.
Dr. Giordano emphasized how scientific advances are allowing doctors to understand the disease at a deeper level—particularly by studying the genetic and biological makeup of each person’s cancer. These insights are ushering in a new era of precision medicine, where treatments can be tailored to the unique features of each patient’s tumour.
A key highlight of the talk was the role of transcriptomic analysis in revealing how pancreatic cancer is not a single disease, but rather a group of biologically distinct subtypes. By studying gene activity in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), researchers have identified recurrent genetic mutations grouped into ten pathways. These findings have led to the classification of PDAC into four molecular subtypes, each with unique characteristics and treatment possibilities.
Dr. Giordano explained how this growing knowledge is helping researchers and clinicians focus on critical genetic changes such as KRAS mutations, DNA repair defects, immune-related alterations, and rare gene fusions, to better guide therapy decisions. By matching treatments more precisely to each tumour’s profile, this approach is offering new hope for improved outcomes in a disease long known for its poor prognosis.