Perspectives on the small ribonucleic acid drugs for pancreatic cancer

Pancreatic cancer (PC) remains one of the most lethal forms of cancer. Unfortunately, existing drugs for PC would cause significant side effects, and the tumor may develop resistance to these treatments. Therefore, there is an urgent need to develop new drugs to provide more treatment options for PC patients. Compared to traditional protein-targeted and DNA-based drugs, ribonucleic acid (RNA)-based therapies have gained significant attention in recent years due to their unique physicochemical and physiological properties. Various strategies have been developed to enhance the metabolic stability and intracellular delivery of small RNA drugs, making them a key focus in cancer drug development in recent years. To explore the therapeutic potential of small RNA drugs in PC, an overview of the status of small RNA drug development is provided, including 17 approved small RNA drugs and 43 small RNA drug candidates in clinical trials. In addition, genetic factors involved in PC progression are examined, identifying 17 protein-coding genes and 15 microRNA genes. Finally, six strategies for developing small RNA drugs for PC are discussed.