Drug Delivery Strategies for the Treatment of Pancreatic Cancer

Sep 24, 2026

Pancreatic cancer is rapidly becoming a major global health threat, with projections indicating it will be the second leading cause of cancer-related death by 2030. Pancreatic adenocarcinomas dominate pancreatic malignancies (~95%) and often evolve asymptomatically, delaying early diagnosis. The disease features excessive fibrotic stroma (desmoplasia) that remodels the extracellular matrix, releases growth factors, and supports tumor growth and metastasis. Despite nanotechnology-, immunotherapy-, and conjugate-based advances, clinical progress remains limited, while prognosis worsens. This review examines delivery challenges and strategies aimed at reducing chemotherapy-associated adverse effects and improving treatment efficiency.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryHealthcare

FormatPDF

Pages31

Reading Time1 h 18 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Drug Delivery Challenges and Rationale

Therapeutic Delivery Strategies to Improve Outcomes

Minimizing Adverse Effects of Current Chemotherapy

pharmaceutics Review Drug Delivery Strategies for the Treatment of Pancreatic Cancer Oluwabukunmi Olajubutu, Omotola D. Ogundipe, Amusa Adebayo and Simeon K. Adesina * Citation: Olajubutu, O.; Ogundipe, O.D.; Adebayo, A.; Adesina, S.K. Drug Delivery Strategies for the Treatment of Pancreatic Cancer. Pharmaceutics 2023, 15, 1318 . [https://doi.org/10.3390/](https://doi.org/10.3390/)[ ](https://doi.org/10.3390/)pharmaceutics15051318 Academic Editor: Wei Huang Received: 17 March 2023 Revised: 15 April 2023 Accepted: 19 April 2023 Published: 22 April 2023 Copyright: © 2023 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license ([https://](https://)[ ](https://)[creativecommons.org/licenses/by/](creativecommons.org/licenses/by/)[ ](creativecommons.org/licenses/by/)[4.0/](4.0/)) . Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Howard University, Washington, DC 20059, USA; [oluwabukunmi.olajub@bison.howard.edu](oluwabukunmi.olajub@bison.howard.edu) (O.O.); [omotola.ogundipe@bison.howard.edu](omotola.ogundipe@bison.howard.edu) (O.D.O.); [amusa.adebayo@howard.edu](amusa.adebayo@howard.edu) (A.A.) * Correspondence: [simeon.adesina@howard.edu](simeon.adesina@howard.edu); Tel.: +1-202-250-5304; Fax: +1-202-806-7805 Abstract: Pancreatic cancer is fast becoming a global menace and it is projected to be the second leading cause of cancer-related death by 2030 . Pancreatic adenocarcinomas, which develop in the pancreas' exocrine region, are the predominant type of pancreatic cancer, representing about 95% of total pancreatic tumors. The malignancy progresses asymptomatically, making early diagnosis difﬁcult. It is characterized by excessive production of ﬁbrotic stroma known as desmoplasia, which aids tumor growth and metastatic spread by remodeling the extracellular matrix and releasing tumor growth factors. For decades, immense efforts have been harnessed toward developing more effective drug delivery systems for pancreatic cancer treatment leveraging nanotechnology, immunotherapy, drug conjugates, and combinations of these approaches. However, despite the reported preclinical success of these approaches, no substantial progress has been made clinically and the prognosis for pancreatic cancer is worsening. This review provides insights into challenges associated with the delivery of therapeutics for pancreatic cancer treatment and discusses drug delivery strategies to minimize adverse effects associated with current chemotherapy options and to improve the efﬁciency of drug treatment. Keywords: pancreatic cancer; desmoplasia; extracellular matrix; nanotechnology; drug-conjugate; immunotherapy; pancreatic adenocarcinoma 1. Introduction Pancreatic cancer remains one of the deadliest and most difﬁcult cancers to treat. The disease accounts for more than 331,000 deaths per year, making it the seventh leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide [1–6] . Approximately 56,770 new cases of pancreatic cancer and 45,750 deaths were reported in 2019 in the United States, while 60,430 new cases and 48,220 deaths were recorded in the year 2021 [1,4,7,8] . In 2022, pancreatic cancer was reported to be the third leading cause of cancer-related death in the USA after lung and colorectal cancers with estimated new cases numbering 59,143 and deaths numbering 49,920 [9] . It is projected to be the second leading cause of cancer-related death by 2030 [1,6,10–13] . Pancreatic cancer accounts for 8% of all cancer deaths with a median survival of about six months and a meager ﬁve-year survival rate of less than 5%[1,14–16] . Pancreatic cancer is thus a silent killer disease that requires urgent attention. Pancreatic cancer progresses slowly and asymptomatically, making early diagnosis challenging [12] . The poor prognosis of pancreatic cancer is attributed to the disease's late diagnosis, as treatment u

FAQs

Why is early diagnosis of pancreatic cancer difficult?

Pancreatic cancer progresses slowly and asymptomatically, making early detection challenging.

What role does desmoplasia play in pancreatic cancer progression?

Desmoplasia is fibrotic stroma that remodels the extracellular matrix and releases tumor growth factors, supporting growth and metastatic spread.

What delivery technologies and approaches have been pursued for pancreatic cancer treatment?

Researchers have focused on drug delivery systems leveraging nanotechnology, immunotherapy, drug conjugates, and combinations of these approaches.

Sep 24, 2026

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