The FDA recently approved Abraxane for the treatment of metastatic pancreatic cancer. This is a breakthrough for Celgene (who acquired the drug with their acquisition of Abraxis), and is the first significant change in the treatment of pancreatic cancer in the last 8 years. Results from the latest clinical trials, revealed at this year’s ASCO meeting, highlighted the drugs ability to extend the lives of pancreatic cancer patients from 3 to 6 months.
Additional News
- Bacteria May Play Role In Pancreatic Cancer
Bacterial infections may play a role in triggering pancreatic cancer, according to recent research. A growing number of studies suggest a role for infections –primarily of the stomach and gums — in pancreatic cancer. The disease is a particularly deadly cancer, which the American Cancer Society estimates will kill nearly 38,500 Americans in 2013. - Drug Makers Could Soon Turn Away From Eli Lilly’s Gemzar and Toward Nuvilex’s Cell Encapsulation
While Eli Lilly’s cancer fighting drug Gemzar (gemcitabine) has been on the market since the late 1990s, its success with cancer duly noted, other big pharmaceutical companies are combining their own drugs with gemcitabine in their own clinical trials in an attempt to improve upon the gemcitabine’s effectiveness when that drug is used alone for the treatment of advanced, inoperable pancreatic cancer, but they’re not finding much success. However, Nuvilex, Inc.’s (OTCQB: NVLX) treatment for the disease has shown better data in two mid-phase clinical trials when compared to historical data for gemcitabine alone. - Ruxolitinib Plus Capecitabine Improves Survival in Pancreatic Cancer
Ruxolitinib (Jakafi) significantly improved the survival rate of a subgroup of patients with recurrent or treatment-refractory pancreatic cancer—those who were expected to benefit from the drug the most when given in combination with the chemotherapy agent capecitabine—compared with patients in the same population who received capecitabine alone, according to top-line results of a phase II proof-of-concept study. - Nanotechnology Helps Track and Improve Drug Action in Pancreatic Cancer
UK and Australian scientists have been able to show ways in which we can markedly improve drug targeting of solid tumours, using tiny ‘biosensors’ along with new advanced imaging techniques. - Apigenin And Luteolin Flavonoids Kill Human Pancreatic Cancer Cells
Two laboratory studies found that the flavonoids apigenin and luteolin, found in celery, artichokes and herbs like Mexican oregano, kills human pancreatic cancer cells in vitro by inhibiting an important enzyme. - Incyte pancreatic cancer drug improves survival in mid-stage trial | Reuters
Incyte Corp reported an improved survival rate in patients most likely to benefit from its experimental pancreatic cancer treatment, Jakafi, sending the company’s shares up 30 percent to its highest in almost 13 years. - New immunity-boosting drug helps body kill cancer – Telegraph
Scientists at the University of Southampton have developed the treatment in an attempt to tackle cancers, such as those of the pancreas, head and neck, that are particularly hard to deal with using available techniques. - U.S.+Cancer+Institute+’Megaproject’+to+Target+Common+Cancer-Driving+Protein+-+ScienceInsider
- Breakthrough in the understanding of how pancreatic cancer cells ingest nutrients points to new drug target
In a landmark cancer study published online in Nature, researchers at NYU School of Medicine have unraveled a longstanding mystery about how pancreatic tumor cells feed themselves, opening up new therapeutic possibilities for a notoriously lethal disease with few treatment options. Pancreatic cancer kills nearly 38,000 Americans annually, making it a leading cause of cancer death. The life expectancy for most people diagnosed with it is less than a year. - Bacteria deliver radioactive drugs to treat pancreatic cancer – FierceDrugDelivery
Articles
Here are the latest additions to the Mendeley Pancreatic Cancer Genomics collection.
- Role of bacterial infections in pancreatic cancer.
- The role of stroma in pancreatic cancer: diagnostic and therapeutic implications.
- Tumour-stroma interactions in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma: Rationale and current evidence for new therapeutic strategies.
- Oncogenic Kras is required for both the initiation and maintenance of pancreatic cancer in mice.
- Do hENT1 and RRM1 predict the clinical benefit of gemcitabine in pancreatic cancer?
- Carcinoembryonic antigen-related cell adhesion molecules (CEACAMs) in cancer progression and metastasis.
- Protease activated receptor-2 induces migration of pancreatic cancer cells in an extracellular ATP dependent manner.
- Up-regulation of DDX39 in Human Pancreatic Cancer Cells with Acquired Gemcitabine Resistance Compared to Gemcitabine-sensitive Parental Cells.
- Identification and impact of hepatitis B virus DNA and antigens in pancreatic cancer tissues and adjacent non-cancerous tissues.
- Protein-bound polysaccharide decreases invasiveness and proliferation in pancreatic cancer by inhibition of hedgehog signaling and HIF-1α pathways under hypoxia.
- FGFR3 has tumor suppressor properties in cells with epithelial phenotype.
- Multifunctional roles of Urokinase Plasminogen Activator (uPA) in Cancer Stemness and in Chemo-resistance of Pancreatic Cancer.
- Functions of TAp63 and p53 in restraining the development of metastatic cancer.
- Cooperation among Numb, MDM2 and p53 in the development and progression of pancreatic cancer.
- Nuclear Expression of Glioma-Associated Oncogene Homolog 1 and Nuclear Factor-κB Is Associated with a Poor Prognosis of Pancreatic Cancer.
- FAP-overexpressing fibroblasts produce an extracellular matrix that enhances invasive velocity and directionality of pancreatic cancer cells.
- The CX3CL1/CX3CR1 reprogrammes glucose metabolism through HIF-1 pathway in pancreatic adenocarcinoma.
- A phase II study of a personalized peptide vaccination for chemotherapy-resistant advanced pancreatic cancer patients.
- Cavin-1 is essential for the tumor-promoting effect of caveolin-1 and enhances its prognostic potency in pancreatic cancer.
- MUC1 induces drug resistance in pancreatic cancer cells via upregulation of multidrug resistance genes.
Related articles
- UPDATE 1-U.S. FDA okays Celgene’s Abraxane for pancreatic cancer (reuters.com)
- FDA Approves Novel Abraxane Drug for Pancreatic Cancer [Video] (guardianlv.com)
- Celgene’s Abraxane approved by FDA for pancreatic cancer (medcitynews.com)