BACKGROUND: The incidence of pancreatic cancer nearly equals its death rate (97%). Two-year survival is about 10%. Chemotherapy treatment is problematic because of the palliative and limited duration of response. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The article analyzes the objective response and median survival time (MST) for old and new drugs in the treatment of pancreatic cancer. RESULTS: The most encouraging results to date come from studies of 5-fluorouracil (5FU) as an adjuvant therapy and of gemcitabine in the advanced disease, which is one of the most active and best tolerated drugs in recent years. However, with the introduction of new drugs or with different old drug associations, interesting results are also becoming evident. CONCLUSIONS: New approaches to CT treatment are necessary. Patient enrollment into rigorous and well conducted clinical trials, either at tumor diagnosis or after tumor recurrence, will generate new information regarding investigational therapies and it will offer improved therapies for patients with this disease.
BACKGROUND: The incidence of pancreatic cancer nearly equals its death rate (97%). Two-year survival is about 10%. Chemotherapy treatment is problematic because of the palliative and limited duration of response. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The article analyzes the objective response and median survival time (MST) for old and new drugs in the treatment of pancreatic cancer. RESULTS: The most encouraging results to date come from studies of 5-fluorouracil (5FU) as an adjuvant therapy and of gemcitabine in the advanced disease, which is one of the most active and best tolerated drugs in recent years. However, with the introduction of new drugs or with different old drug associations, interesting results are also becoming evident. CONCLUSIONS: New approaches to CT treatment are necessary. Patient enrollment into rigorous and well conducted clinical trials, either at tumor diagnosis or after tumor recurrence, will generate new information regarding investigational therapies and it will offer improved therapies for patients with this disease.