Advances in the treatment of patients with pancreatic cancer: improvement in symptoms and survival time. The San Antonio Drug Development Team.

Pancreatic cancer is a major cause of death from cancer in both men and women in the USA and Europe. The disease causes pain and has a significant impact on the performance status of the patient. In a randomized trial vs 5-fluorouracil, the novel nucleoside analogue gemcitabine (GEMZAR) has been shown to provide clinical benefit for patients (decreased pain and improved performance status) as well as to improve the time to tumour progression and survival for patients with the disease. There are also other new agents that are presented in this discussion, such as the multi-targeted antifolate MTA, capecitabine and the ONYX-015 adenovirus, which replicates in, and kills, only p53-abnormal cells, which have the potential to have an impact on this terrible disease.