New drug substantially extends survival in pancreatic cancerSeptember 17, 2008A new form of chemotherapy that destroys new blood vessels that grow around tumors has produced excellent results in a phase II trial of patients with inoperable pancreatic cancer, researchers report at the 33rd Congress of the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) in Stockholm. European investigators led by Prof. Matthias Löhr from the Karolinska Institute evaluated the efficacy and safety of three different doses of cationic lipid complexed paclitaxel (EndoTAG-1) administered twice weekly, in combination with weekly infusions of gemcitabine, compared to gemcitabine alone, in 200 patients with pancreatic adenocarcinoma. "EndoTAG consists of charged particles that bind preferentially to the fast-growing endothelial cells in new blood vessels being formed by tumors," Prof. Löhr explained. "The drug, paclitaxel, is then released and thus directly reaches an important target in tumors, i.e. the vessels. Paclitaxel itself is not very efficient in pancreratic cancer."
After following patients for a year, the researchers found that treatment with such combination led to a substantially extended median survival time compared to standard therapy. Patients given gemcitabine alone survived on average 7.2 months, compared to up to 13.6 months for patients who received repeated doses of the combination (EndoTAG plus gemcitabine). "These results are the best I have ever seen in palliative treatment in pancreatic cancer," Prof. Löhr said. "The results are really excellent and a phase III study is in the making." European Society for Medical Oncology | |||||||||||||||||||||
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Related Pancreatic Cancer Current Events and Pancreatic Cancer News Articles 2 new compounds show promise for eliminating breast cancer tumors Two new compounds created by a University of Central Florida professor show early promise for destroying breast cancer tumors. The miseries of allergies just may help prevent some cancers, study finds There may be a silver -- and healthy -- lining to the miserable cloud of allergy symptoms: Sneezing, coughing, tearing and itching just may help prevent cancer -- particularly colon, skin, bladder, mouth, throat, uterus and cervix, lung and gastrointestinal tract cancer, according to a new Cornell study. Cancer drugs my build and not tear down blood vessels Scientists have thought that one way to foil a tumor from generating blood vessels to feed its growth - a process called angiogenesis - was by creating drugs aimed at stopping a key vessel growth-promoting protein. But now the opposite seems to be true. UC Davis researchers discover Achilles' heel in pancreatic cancer UC Davis Cancer Center researchers have discovered a metabolic deficiency in pancreatic cancer cells that can be used to slow the progress of the deadliest of all cancers. Jefferson Department of Surgery announces new pancreas tumor registry Charles J. Yeo, M.D., Samuel D. Gross Professor and Chair, Department of Surgery at Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University, announces the establishment of the new Jefferson Pancreas Tumor Registry (JPTR). Supercomputer provides massive computational boost to biomedical research at TGen In less time than the blink of an eye, the Translational Genomics Research Institute's new supercomputer at Arizona State University can do operations equal to every dollar in the recent Wall Street bailout. Hepatitis B exposure may increase risk for pancreatic cancer In a first-of-its-kind finding, researchers at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center have discovered that exposure to the hepatitis B virus (HBV) may increase the risk of pancreatic cancer. Study finds association between hepatitis B and pancreatic cancer A new study has shown that evidence of past hepatitis B infection was twice as common in people with pancreatic cancer than in healthy controls. This study is the first to report an association between past exposure to the hepatitis B virus and pancreatic cancer, but researchers cautioned that more studies are necessary to evaluate the nature of the link. Jefferson scientists deliver toxic genes to effectively kill pancreatic cancer cells A research team, led by investigators at the Department of Surgery at Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University and the Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson, has achieved a substantial "kill" of pancreatic cancer cells by using nanoparticles to successfully deliver a deadly diphtheria toxin gene. The effective chemoradiotherapy method for pancreatic cancer Pancreatic cancer is the fifth most common cause of cancer death in Japan. The prognosis is extremely poor because it is difficult to detect this disease in the early stage and also the postoperative incidence of recurrence is still high, and we have not had any effective treatment for inoperable patients. More Pancreatic Cancer Current Events and Pancreatic Cancer News Articles |
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