A new method of treating pancreatic cancer showed encouraging results
Last reviewed: 23.04.2024
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Scientists from Cambridge conducted the first clinical trials of a new method of treating pancreatic cancer, which showed encouraging results.
In the course of the experiment, it was found that the combination of a well-known anti-cancer drug gemcitabine with an experimental drug called MRK003 triggers a chain reaction in the mouse, which ultimately leads to the death of cancer cells.
Currently, clinical trials of this method are being carried out on people who are funded by the British Foundation for Cancer Research.
41-year-old Richard Griffiths, the father of two children, participates in these trials as a patient. The diagnosis of " pancreatic cancer " was given to him in May 2011.
"After six cycles of treatment, the scan showed that the tumors have decreased in size and I am continuing treatment," he says. "I really hope for a new method and I want to help science."
Aggressive Cancer
The British Cancer Research Foundation said that research in the field of pancreatic cancer is now given priority due to the fact that survival statistics for this disease are extremely low.
Annually in Britain this form of cancer is found in 8 thousand people; pancreatic cancer ranks fifth in mortality from different categories of cancers.
The predicted life span after diagnosis is in the case of pancreatic cancer usually less than six months.
The most recent data on England indicate that only 16% of patients remain alive within 12 months after diagnosis.
Professor Duncan Jodrell, who leads the tests at the University of Cambridge, said: "We are very pleased that the results of these important studies will now be subjected to clinical trials to check if they represent a new method for treating pancreatic cancer." However, it will take time to understand , how successful this method has been in the treatment of people. "
In the first phase of clinical trials, 60 patients with developed form of pancreatic cancer will be involved.
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