Pancreatic Cancer

Drs. Levy and Wiersema have provided an authoritative review of the role of endoscopic ultrasonography in the diagnosis and staging of pancreatic cancer. As outlined in their article, endoscopic ultrasound has emerged as an important tool in the diagnostic evaluation of many patients with suspected pancreatic neoplasms. We concur that endoscopic ultrasound is part of the standard preoperative evaluation of patients with biochemically confirmed insulinoma and gastrinoma syndromes and of at-risk patients with multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1. Endoscopic ultrasound and endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration (FNA) can also accurately determine the etiology of a cystic pancreatic neoplasm by differentiating between mucinous, serous, and inflammatory (pseudocyst) lesions.

SAN FRANCISCO-Two phase II chemotherapy regimens combining gemcitabine (Gemzar) and docetaxel (Taxotere) in patients with advanced pancreatic cancer show higher response rates than gemcitabine alone and suggest further explorations of the combination are warranted, according to presentations at the 37th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO).

SAN FRANCISCO-In patients with advanced pancreatic cancer, the combination of gemcitabine (Gemzar) followed by oxaliplatin (investigational in the United States) (GEMOX) is active with low toxicity, Christophe Louvet, MD, Hôpital St-Antoine, Paris, France, said at the 37th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO abstract 506).

SAN FRANCISCO-Two studies presented at the 37th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) show no advantage to adding fluorouracil (5-FU) to gemcitabine (Gemzar) in patients with advanced pancreatic cancer.

This article will review the pertinent data on the use of chemotherapy for all stages of pancreatic cancer. For patients with metastatic disease, fluorouracil (5-FU) was the standard of care for several decades until a single

This article will review the pertinent data on the use of chemotherapy for all stages of pancreatic cancer. For patients with metastatic disease, fluorouracil (5-FU) was the standard of care for several decades until a single

This article will review the pertinent data on the use of chemotherapy for all stages of pancreatic cancer. For patients with metastatic disease, fluorouracil (5-FU) was the standard of care for several decades until a single

This article will review the pertinent data on the use of chemotherapy for all stages of pancreatic cancer. For patients with metastatic disease, fluorouracil (5-FU) was the standard of care for several decades until a single

WINSTON-SALEM, North Carolina-Preliminary data from a phase II trial of induction irinotecan (Camptosar)/gemcitabine (Gemzar) followed by twice-weekly gemcitabine and radiation in patients with locally advanced pancreatic cancer show partial responses in 2 of 7 evaluable patients. There were no local progressions, and median time to progression of 6 months, according to A. William Blackstock, MD. Dr. Blackstock is assistant professor at Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

SAN FRANCISCO-In an effort to extend the activity of gemcitabine (Gemzar) against pancreatic cancer, researchers have paired an investigational chimeric monoclonal antibody, IMC-C225 (cetuximab) with the standard chemotherapy. IMC-C225 selectively binds to epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR).

TAMPA, Florida-Phase II studies have shown that the combination of irinotecan (Camptosar) and gemcitabine (Gemzar) are well tolerated and active in advanced or metastatic pancreatic cancer, and this combination is now being tested in randomized phase II and phase III trials, said Caio Max S. Rocha Lima, MD. Dr. Rocha Lima is assistant professor of medicine at the University of South Florida’s H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Florida.

BMS-247550 is a methyl, semi-synthetic analog of the natural product epothilone B. Provided to the National Cancer Institute (NCI) by Bristol-Myers Squibb, BMS-247550 was chosen for clinical development because it demonstrated

Given the well-established role of angiogenesis (or new blood vessel formation) in tumor growth and metastasis, antiangiogenic therapy, a concept first proposed by Dr. Judah Folkman,[1] has become increasingly recognized as a promising

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

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

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.