A Drug offers Hope in Pancreatic Cancer Battle

A new drug that improves survival in sufferers of pancreatic cancer has been licensed for use in the UK. Pancreatic cancer is one of the most deadly forms of the disease.

The formulation of ‘Abraxane’, a drug for pancreatic cancer patients, is hailed as biggest advance in 20 years in fight against the cancer form. The drug increases the survival by two months on average, but some patients are living up to two years longer.

Only five per cent of pancreatic cancer patients are still alive five years after diagnosis and there has been no improvement in five and 10 year survival rates in the last 40 years in the UK. The disease is difficult to detect because the pancreas is buried deep in the body so symptoms appear when the disease is at an advanced stage.

In the trials of abraxane drug, patients with advanced pancreatic cancer treated with Abraxane and chemotherapy lived for 8.7 months compared with 6.6 months for those on standard treatment.

(source: Daily Mail)

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