Pancreatic Cancer

Pancreatic cancer is a disease seen predominantly in elderly patients. Compared to younger patients, older patients are more likely to present with early-stage disease and, therefore, may be candidates for aggressive local

The article entitled "Neoadjuvant Strategies for Pancreatic Cancer," by Drs. Evans, Wolff, and Crane, is an excellent review of past and current developments in adjuvant therapy for pancreatic cancer. In addition to a thorough literature review, the authors draw on their own extensive experience in neoadjuvant therapy for pancreatic cancer at M. D. Anderson Cancer Center.

We have made much progress over the past 30 years in the surgical management of pancreatic cancer, and perioperative mortality rates are low in centers with experience in the treatment of this disease. However, surgical resection is clearly limited in achieving local and systemic control of pancreatic cancer, and chemoradiation will likely become a part of any successful pancreatic cancer treatment program.

This report by Drs. Evans, Wolff, and Crane is a well-written and concise description of their extensive experience with the treatment of pancreatic cancer. They and others at the M. D. Anderson Cancer Center should be congratulated for their innovative, methodical, and thoughtful approach to the treatment of this lethal disease.

Recent prospective and retrospective data suggest that the use of multimodality therapy combining pancreaticoduodenectomy with postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy (fluorouracil) and external-beam radiation

NEW YORK-The camptothecin analog rubitecan (9-nitrocamptothecin) is safe and active in advanced pancreatic cancer, the combined experience from two phase II trials suggests.

CHARLESTON, South Carolina-Irinotecan/gemcitabine combinations have looked sufficiently promising for pancreatic cancer in phase II trials that researchers are proceeding with randomized phase II and phase III studies, Caio Max S. Rocha Lima, MD, told those attending the Vanderbilt University Symposium. Dr. Rocha Lima is assistant professor of medicine in the Hematology Oncology Division at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston.

NEW YORK-The biologic response modifier virulizin, which has in vitro and preclinical activity in a variety of cancers, has exhibited possible activity in pancreatic cancer in phase I and II clinical trials, said Michael P. Thirlwell, MD, director, Department of Oncology, McGill University, Montreal.

NEW YORK-Irofulven, the first of the acylfulvenes, a new class of cytotoxic agents, is being studied in a number of solid tumors, including a phase III trial in advanced pancreatic cancer, said Raymond Taetle, MD, clinical professor of medicine and pathology, University of Arizona, Arizona Cancer Center, Tucson.

Gemcitabine (Gemzar) and irinotecan (CPT-11, Camptosar) are active cytotoxic drugs against pancreatic cancer. Preclinical data evaluating the combination of gemcitabine and irinotecan suggest dose-dependent synergistic

NEW YORK-Although no complete responses occurred in patients with advanced pancreatic cancer in a study of DX-8951F (exatecan mesylate, Daiichi Pharmaceuticals), those who were treatment-naïve survived longer than usual, and stable disease was observed in 39%, Eileen M. O’Reilly, MD, reported at the Chemotherapy Foundation Symposium XVIII.

NEW YORK-An irinotecan (Camptosar) plus gemcitabine (Gemzar) combination known as IrinoGem was associated with low toxicity, median survival of 6 months, and a 1-year survival rate of 27%, according to results from a phase II study presented at the Chemotherapy Foundation Symposium XVIII.

Irinotecan (Camptosar) has shown activity in several solid tumor malignancies, including gastric and pancreatic cancer. In vitro studies suggest antitumor activity in esophageal cancer cell lines. Sequence-dependent synergy

Synergy with no overlapping toxicities has been demonstrated for the combination of irinotecan ( Camptosar, CPT-11) and gemcitabine (Gemzar) in vitro. Results of a single-institution phase I study in which patients with

PHILADELPHIA-Pancreatic cancer patients usually lose 25% of their body mass within 4 months of diagnosis and die within 6 months. But early work from Scotland on supplementation with eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) seems to suggest that the fatty acid may stabilize weight and add months to the lives of pancreatic cancer patients.

This year, approximately 40% of the 28,300 patients diagnosed with pancreatic carcinoma in the United States will present with locally advanced disease. Radiotherapeutic approaches are often employed, as these patients

This year, approximately 40% of the 28,300 patients diagnosed with pancreatic carcinoma in the United States will present with locally advanced disease. Radiotherapeutic approaches are often employed, as these patients

This year, approximately 40% of the 28,300 patients diagnosed with pancreatic carcinoma in the United States will present with locally advanced disease. Radiotherapeutic approaches are often employed, as these patients

CHARLESTON, South Carolina-‘‘Highly censored data” from a multicenter phase II trial of irinotecan (Camptosar)/gemcitabine (Gemzar) suggest that this combination, known as IrinoGem, “is well tolerated and active in advanced and metastatic pancreatic cancer,” Caio Max S. Rocha Lima, MD, reported at a clinical investigators’ workshop. IrinoGem is now being compared to gemcitabine alone in an international multicenter phase III randomized trial involving 75 institutions and 350 patients with locally advanced or metastatic pancreatic adenocarcinoma.

NEW ORLEANS-Treatments combining irinotecan (Camptosar) with other drugs are active and well-tolerated in patients with advanced and metastatic pancreatic and ovarian cancer, according to two reports presented at the 36th annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology.

ORLANDO-A number of therapies now in clinical trials may make a difference in outcome for patients with pancreatic cancer, and some may indefinitely prolong survival, Alexander S. Rosemurgy II, MD, said at the Joint Cancer Conference of the Florida Universities. The conference is sponsored by the Univerity of South Florida College of Medicine and presented by the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute, University of Florida Shands Cancer Center, and University of Miami Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center..

NEW YORK-Gemcitabine (Gem-zar), approved for the treatment of advanced pancreatic cancer, may have value as a modulator of standard chemotherapy in advanced colorectal cancer, Stefan Madajewicz, MD, said at the Chemotherapy Foundation Symposium XVII. Dr. Madajewicz, professor of medicine and chief of neoplastic diseases, Division of Medical Oncology, SUNY Health Center, Stony Brook, NY, reported on phase I/II trials of gemcitabine in colorectal cancer used in combination with fluorouracil (5-FU) and folinic acid.

NEW YORK-Although it is often not possible to offer curative treatment in pancreatic cancer, significant improvements have taken place nonetheless, said Ephraim S. Casper, MD, chief medical oncologist, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center at St. Clare’s Hospital, Denville, NJ.

NEW YORK-A regimen of twice-weekly gemcitabine (Gemzar) plus radiation therapy in patients with unresectable pancreatic cancer appears promising, according to results of a phase I dose escalation study presented at the Chemotherapy Foundation Symposium XVII. The twice-weekly delivery may be more cytotoxic than standard once-weekly dosing, and gemcitabine may act as a radiation sensitizer, said A. William Blackstock, MD, assistant professor of Radiation Oncology, Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, NC.

Both gastric and pancreatic cancer remain leading causes of cancer death in the United States and worldwide. While surgical resection continues to be required for long-term cure of both these neoplasms, 5-year survival