Combination therapy increases survival rate in pancreatic cancer

Reported by Susan Aldridge, PhD, medical journalist

Combining gemcitabine with radiotherapy after surgery improves the outlook for those with advanced pancreatic cancer.
Pancreatic cancer is difficult to treat and has a very poor survival rate. But a study from researchers at Wake Forest University and colleagues in France now offers new hope for those affected by this terrible disease. They have shown that a combination of radiotherapy and the anti-cancer drug gemcitabine can increase survival following surgery for advanced pancreatic cancer.

A group of 46 patients with advanced pancreatic cancer received six weeks of daily radiotherapy with twice weekly gemcitabine and then two cycles of gemcitabine alone. Average survival time was 18.3 months compared to an expected survival time of just 11 months after surgery alone. Sixty nine per cent of the patients were still alive at one year and 24 per cent at three years. The results are promising because this treatment combination seems to offer both increased survival in pancreatic cancer and better local control of the disease.

Source
British Journal of Cancer August 2006