At the 2018 ASCO conference, the results of a study on chemotherapy attracted a lot of attention. Studies have shown that an innovative chemotherapy can effectively treat pancreatic cancer known as the “king of cancer”. For this cancer with a very poor prognosis, this chemotherapy can actually prolong the life of the patient for up to 20 months!
In a clinical trial called PRODIGE 24 / CCTG PA.6, the researchers recruited a large number of patients with non-metastatic pancreatic duct adenocarcinoma (PDAC), which is also the most common pancreatic cancer, accounting for 90% of all cases. %. These patients have undergone surgery to remove the tumor. In the 3-12 weeks after surgery, a total of 493 patients were randomly divided into two groups, one group received gemcitabine (gemcitabine) treatment, the other group received new chemotherapy mFOLFIRINOX (modified FOLFIRINOX) treatment. The latter contains four different chemotherapy components, including oxaliplatin, leucovorin, irinotecan, and 5-fluorouracil.
The study showed that with a median follow-up of 33.6 months, the median disease-free survival of patients in the mFOLFIRINOX group was significantly higher than that in the gemcitabine group (21.6 months-12.8 months). In terms of median overall survival, the former is even higher than the previous 20 months (54.4 months-35.0 months). With the additional survival benefits, the side effects of chemotherapy can also be controlled.
According to the plan, the researchers will continue to explore the best time for chemotherapy in order to understand whether patients can receive chemotherapy before surgery to shrink the tumor, thereby reducing the risk of tumor micrometastasis and increasing the probability of the tumor being completely removed by surgery. We look forward to hearing more good news about this therapy and let patients suffering from pancreatic cancer see hope.
