|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 
|
Pancreas Cancer News and Archives | |
 |
For educational purposes only; not to be relied upon. Please read Pancreatica Disclaimer | |
|
ICACT: Intra-Arterial Chemotherapy
Improves Survival in Patients with Pancreatic Cancer
Injection of adjuvant chemotherapy into the celiac artery may extend overall survival and reduce hepatic relapses in patients with resectable pancreatic cancer, according to Italian researchers. Dr. Mauro Pagani, with the Asola Hospital in Verona, Italy, and colleagues reported their findings here February 1st at the 14th International Congress on Anti-Cancer Treatment (ICACT). Most patients with pancreatic cancer have locoregional recurrence and metastases to the liver soon after surgery, according to the researchers. The role of adjuvant chemotherapy is unclear, but the researchers hypothesised that locoregional chemotherapy might reduce relapses of disease in the abdomen. They evaluated 28 consecutive patients with median age 59 years, who had pancreatic adenocarcinoma that had been radically resected. The majority of patients had postoperative tumour stage III according to Union Internationale Contre le Cancer classification, and average tumour size was 3 cm. Twenty patients had nodal involvement and 11 had positive resection margins. On days 1, 22 and 43, each patient received interarterial chemotherapy with folinic acid 70 mg/m², 5-fluorouracil 700 mg/m², epirubicin 45 mg/m², and carboplatin 210 mg/m². The drugs were administered through a catheter in the celiac axis introduced through the femoral artery using the Seldinger technique. Each patient received an average of 2.8 treatment cycles. Median overall survival was 22.2 months, and median disease-free survival was 13 months, the researchers reported. Toxicity was mild, with grade 2 anaemia occurring in four patients (14.3%), said Dr. Pagani. "This approach demonstrated promising results with very mild toxicity, along with good patient compliance," he told Doctor's Guide. A total of 17 patients (60%) relapsed and 8 of those relapses were seen in 11 patients with positive margins. The first site of relapse was the liver in 4 patients. "The apparent protection against liver metastases was promising because most pancreatic cancer normally metastasizes to the liver," Dr. Pagani said. "The intra-arterial approach probably works by increasing the local concentration in the liver, and this may explain the effect." |
||
 Home | In The News | Links | FAQ | Donations Clinical Trials Database | Research Resources | About Us |
||
|
|
||
|
www.pancreatica.org |
||