Pancreatic Cancer in 2010: Early Intervention and Detection: Abstract and Introduction

Pancreatic Cancer in 2010: Early Intervention and Detection: Abstract and Introduction

...Finally, finding better treatments or optimizing existing treatments for pancreatic cancer remains a high priority. The European study Group for Pancreatic Cancer (ESPAC)-3 trial reported its findings in September 2010. 1,088 patients were randomly allocated to receive either adjuvant fluorouracil plus folinic acid or gemcitabine.^[10] No difference in survival was observed between the treatment groups (median survival was 23.0 months for patients treated with fluorouracil plus folinic acid and 23.6 months for those treated with gemcitabine) and progression-free survival was also very similar between the two groups (median of 14.1 and 14.3 months, respectively). This result means that for patients who do not tolerate gemcitabine, a valid alternative in the form of fluorouracil plus folinic acid is available. Moreover, new treatment regimens based on either drug, or combinations of both, can be trialed (ESPAC-4 trial)....