Case report - A successful case of targeted immunotherapy for locally advanced pancreatic cancer under non-surgical conditions

Sep 23, 2026

Locally advanced pancreatic cancer (LAPC) poses major therapeutic challenges, especially when patients are not candidates for surgical resection. This case report describes a 60-year-old woman diagnosed via pathological biopsy who received targeted immunotherapy after gemcitabine, oxaliplatin, and S-1 chemotherapy failed. Treatment was adjusted using next-generation sequencing results to include albumin-bound paclitaxel, capecitabine, and the PD-1 inhibitor camrelizumab for six cycles, with continued refusal of surgery.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryHealthcare

FormatPDF

Pages7

Reading Time18 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Case

Intervention

Conclusion

TYPE Case Report PUBLISHED 10 January 2025 DOI 10.3389/fimmu.2024.1519186 OPEN ACCESS EDITED BY Sina Naserian, Hoˆ pital Paul Brousse, France REVIEWED BY Vikas Somani, Washington University in St. Louis, United States Gaetan Aime Noubissi Nzeteu, Department of General and Visceral Surgery of the Carl von Ossietzky University in Oldenburg, Germany *CORRESPONDENCE Shengxiong Chen [28502469@hebmu.edu.cn](28502469@hebmu.edu.cn) RECEIVED 29 October 2024 ACCEPTED 23 December 2024 PUBLISHED 10 January 2025 CITATION Bi Y, Yv H, Ma X and Chen S (2025) Case report: A successful case of targeted immunotherapy for locally advanced pancreatic cancer under non-surgical conditions. Front. Immunol. 15:1519186 . doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2024.1519186 COPYRIGHT © 2025 Bi, Yv, Ma and Chen. This is an openaccess article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY) . The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms. Case report: A successful case of targeted immunotherapy for locally advanced pancreatic cancer under non-surgical conditions Yuanbo Bi 1, Haotian Yv 1, Xiaopeng Ma 2 and Shengxiong Chen 1* 1 Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, The Second Hospital of Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, Hebei, China, 2 Department of Oncology, Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, Hebei, China Introduction: Locally advanced pancreatic cancer (LAPC) is a borderline unresectable malignancy that presents signiﬁcant treatment challenges. The management of LAPC remains a complex issue, particularly in patients who are not eligible for surgical resection. Case: Here, we report the case of a 60-year-old woman diagnosed with LAPC through pathological biopsy who subsequently underwent targeted immunotherapy following the failure of a gemcitabine, oxaliplatin, and S-1 (G&S) chemotherapy regimen. Intervention: Based on next-generation sequencing (NGS), the patient ’ s treatment regimen was adjusted to include albumin-bound paclitaxel and capecitabine chemotherapy, along with the PD-1 inhibitor camrelizumab (200 mg/cycle) for six cycles. Throughout the treatment period, the patient consistently declined surgical intervention. Imaging studies, including an upper abdominal computed tomography (CT), revealed the formation of a calciﬁed layer surrounding the cancerous tissue in the pancreatic head. Remarkably, the patient has shown stable disease and no evidence of metastasis since the initiation of targeted immunotherapy. Conclusion: This case highlights the potential of targeted immunotherapy for the treatment of LAPC, particularly in non-surgical patients. A personalized approach guided by NGS, combined with immunotherapy, is an effective alternative to traditional treatment strategies for managing this challenging malignancy. KEYWORDS locally advanced pancreatic cancer, targeted immunotherapy, immune checkpoint inhibitors, camrelizumab, tumor-associated macrophages Frontiers in Immunology 01 [frontiersin.org](frontiersin.org) 1 Introduction Pancreatic cancer is projected to become the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths by 2030, with only 15% of patients presenting with resectable disease at diagnosis (1). Early-stage pancreatic cancer often presents with mild gastrointestinal symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, abdominal distension, and low back pain. Consequently, many patients are misdiagnosed and treated for other conditions, leading to delays in the appropriate management of pancreatic cancer (2–4). Surgical resection remains the gold standard for achieving a radical cure; however, for borderline resectable pancreatic cancer, R0 resection following chemoradiotherapy

FAQs

Why is locally advanced pancreatic cancer difficult to treat in non-surgical patients?

The report explains that LAPC is a borderline unresectable malignancy with significant treatment challenges, particularly for patients who are not eligible for surgical resection.

What prior chemotherapy failed before targeted immunotherapy was started?

The patient’s gemcitabine, oxaliplatin, and S-1 (G&S) chemotherapy regimen failed, prompting a treatment change.

How was the treatment regimen adjusted and what was the outcome?

Next-generation sequencing guided adjustment to albumin-bound paclitaxel plus capecitabine and the PD-1 inhibitor camrelizumab for six cycles. Imaging showed stable disease with no evidence of metastasis after starting targeted immunotherapy.

Sep 23, 2026

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