Common Treatment of Pancreatic Cancer as Effective as Chemotherapy Drug Dose Following Resection Drug Dose Following Resection

Using the drug gemcitabine in advanced and resected pancreatic cancer, did not result in improved overall survival after pancreatic cancer resection compared to patients who received fluorouracil and folinic acid. 

These are the findings of a study in the September 8 issue of JAMA.

 "Pancreatic cancer is one of the major causes of cancer death globally, with a 5-year survival rate of less than 5 percent. The outlook for those patients who can undergo surgical resection is better, and in specialized centers, resection rates greater than 15 percent can be achieved. Although surgery cannot guarantee a cure, the 5-year survival does improve to around 10 percent following resection. There is a clear need to improve long-term survival in these patients," the authors write. 

John P. Neoptolemos, M.D., of the University of Liverpool, U.K., and colleagues conducted a study to determine whether fluorouracil or gemcitabine is superior in terms of overall survival as adjuvant (supplemental) chemotherapy treatment following resection of pancreatic cancer. The European Study Group for Pancreatic Cancer (ESPAC)-3 trial was conducted in 159 pancreatic cancer centers in Europe, Australasia, Japan, and Canada. Included in ESPAC-3 version 2 (the trial was modified) were 1,088 patients with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma who had undergone cancer resection; patients were randomized between July 2000 and January 2007 and underwent at least 2 years of follow-up. Patients received either fluorouracil plus folinic acid (leucovorin, an active metabolite of folic acid, which counteracts some of the toxic effects of some chemotherapy drugs) (n = 551) or gemcitabine (n = 537) for 6 months.

Source:MEDINDIA