Copyright: ©Author(s) 2026. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license. No commercial re-use. See permissions. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc.
World J Gastrointest Oncol. Sep 15, 2026; 18(9): 119518
Published online Sep 15, 2026. doi: 10.4251/wjgo.119518
Published online Sep 15, 2026. doi: 10.4251/wjgo.119518
Letter to the editor: Role of adjuvant programmed death-1 blockade combined with chemotherapy in resected pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma
Jin-Wei Zhang, State Key Laboratory of Chemical Biology, Research Center of Chemical Kinomics, Shanghai Institute of Organic Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200032, China
Author contributions: Zhang JW designed the overall concept and outline of the manuscript, contributed to the discussion and design of the manuscript, the writing and editing of the manuscript, illustrations, and review of the literature; and the author thoroughly reviewed and endorsed the final manuscript.
AI contribution statement: AI tools (Grammarly and DeepL) were used solely for linguistic refinement and formatting assistance. No AI tool was involved in the generation of research data, interpretation of results, or formulation of conclusions. All AI-generated outputs were critically reviewed and revised by the authors.
Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China, No. 82170406 and No. 81970238.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The author reports no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
Corresponding author: Jin-Wei Zhang, PhD, Principal Investigator, Professor, State Key Laboratory of Chemical Biology, Research Center of Chemical Kinomics, Shanghai Institute of Organic Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, No. 345 Lingling Road, Shanghai 200032, China. jinweizhang@sioc.ac.cn
Received: January 30, 2026
Revised: February 12, 2026
Accepted: May 7, 2026
Published online: September 15, 2026
Processing time: 208 Days and 6 Hours
Revised: February 12, 2026
Accepted: May 7, 2026
Published online: September 15, 2026
Processing time: 208 Days and 6 Hours
Core Tip
Core Tip: Although immune checkpoint inhibitors have shown minimal efficacy in advanced pancreatic cancer, the postoperative adjuvant setting may offer a biologically favorable window for immune intervention. A recent study suggested that combining programmed death-1 inhibition with chemotherapy after surgical resection may improve recurrence-related outcomes without excessive toxicity, providing a compelling rationale for prospective, biomarker-informed trials in this historically refractory disease.