Drug May Help Fight Rare Pancreatic Cancer

Jan. 25, 2010 (Orlando, Fla.) -- A pill that cuts off the supply of
nutrients to tumors shows promise for treating people with the rare type of
pancreatic cancer that afflicted Apple CEO Steve Jobs.
In a study of 171 people with advanced pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors, the
drug, Sutent, doubled the length of time before their disease worsened.
Cancer progressed in 5.5 months among patients on placebo vs. 11.4 months
among patients on Sutent. Sutent also cut the risk of dying by 60%, says Eric
Raymond, MD, head of medical oncology at the Hospital Beaujon in Clichy,
France.
The findings were presented at the 2010 Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium
(GCS).
"For the first time in 18 years, [a new drug] has demonstrated benefit in
these patients," Raymond tells WebMD.
"Even though they are rare, these tumors are a life-limiting event for
patients who have them. This is a very strong study," says Richard M. Goldberg,
MD, head of the North Carolina Cancer Hospital in Chapel Hill.
"I am hopeful it will change how we treat these patients," says Goldberg,
who was not involved with the research.




Pancreatic Cancer Overview
http://www .webmd.com/cancer/pancreatic-cancer/news/20100125/drug-may-help-fight-pancreatic-cancer?src=RSS_PUBLIC