Combined Nabpaclitaxel Pressurized IntraPeritoneal Aerosol Chemotherapy With Systemic Nabpaclitaxel-Gemcitabine Chemotherapy for Pancreatic Cancer Peritoneal Metastases

Pancreatic carcinoma (PC) is an aggressive neoplasm carrying a high metastatic potential with a 5-year survival rate of 7%. The vast majority of cases already developed locally advanced disease, and distant metastases are present at the time of diagnosis. Furthermore, the recurrence rate is nearly 80% within the first two years after surgery, and about half of these patients show peritoneal relapse. Palliative systemic chemotherapy represents the standard treatment option in case of peritoneal metastases (PM) from PC but roughly reaches a median overall survival of 6-11 months with more than 5% of serious adverse events. Based on the available data, Nabpaclitaxel is indicated in combination with Gemcitabine for the first-line systemic treatment of patients with metastatic adenocarcinoma of the pancreas. Pressurized IntraPeritoneal Aerosol Chemotherapy (PIPAC) is a novel intraperitoneal drug-delivery system of low-dose chemotherapy as a pressurized aerosol. Until now, the combination cisplatin/doxorubicin or oxaliplatin has been administered by PIPAC. Recently, a phase I study (NCT03304210) was conducted to explore the use of intraperitoneal Nabpaclitaxel administered by PIPAC, confirming its safety and preliminary efficacy. The recommended dose to safely start a phase-II study was 112.5 mg/m2.