Abstract
The ineffectiveness of curative resection and conventional chemotherapy and radiation therapy in most pancreatic cancer patients indicates how challenging the development of novel therapeutics for pancreatic cancer is. In this respect, molecular target-directed therapy holds great promise. Here we review the molecular pathways deregulated in pancreatic cancer cells and a number of phase III clinical trials of molecular targeting therapies in combination with gemcitabine for pancreatic cancer patients. Unlike non-small cell lung and colorectal cancers, the effects of these therapies on pancreatic cancer patients are far from our expectation, and there is a need for more promising therapeutic targets. To address this point, we outline the molecular basis of our proposal that glycogen synthase kinase (GSK) 3β is an emerging therapeutic target for gastrointestinal cancers including pancreatic cancer.
