ASCO GI Pancreatic Cancer Spotlight

Patients with pancreatic cancer who were treated at high-volume centers had a 16-month improvement in median overall survival (OS) versus those who received treatment at community medical centers.

A bevy of clinical trials exploring the use of nab-paclitaxel (Abraxane) in various combinations and treatment settings aim to uncover future strategies for treating patients with pancreatic adenocarcinoma, which remains one of the deadliest forms of cancer.

"This combination seems to be well-tolerated by patients with manageable toxicity, and overall efficacy for the small group seems to be favorable."

<div style="color:#003668"><em>"When there is a mismatch between the human genetics and bacterial genetics, this may be one of the factors that leads to gastrointestinal cancer."<p align="right"><span style="color:#747474">- Keith Wilson, MD</span></em></div></p>

Second-line treatment of metastatic pancreatic cancer proved to be feasible and beneficial, particularly for patients who received nab-paclitaxel in addition to gemcitabine, according to extension data from a phase III trial.

Patients with pancreatic adenocarcinoma enrolled on clinical trials have "profoundly improved survival" compared with patients in the general population, suggesting that oncologists who use trial data to prognosticate may be missing the mark, according to researchers whose work was presented at the 2016 Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium.

Using genomic and proteomic characterization of pancreatic cancer tumors, researchers from Vall d

Combining liposomal irinotecan (nal-IRI; MM-398; Onivyde) with 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) plus leucovorin dropped the risk of death in patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer by 25% following progression on a gemcitabine-based regimen, according to updated data from the phase III NAPOLI-1 trial.