FIGHTING PANCREATIC CANCER
Each year, about 28,000 people are diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. In the same year, that many people will die from the disease. While surgery can cure the disease, it's only an option for less than 15 percent of patients. A new drug may help the other patients survive longer.
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It's another day at the hospital for Barbara Merrick and her husband Ted.
Barbara has advanced pancreatic cancer. She found out in december and was not expected to live to see spring.
Barbara Merrick
Has pancreatic cancer
"When I was diagnosed, I got real upset and all, but since I've been coming here taking chemo and on the drug, I've been doing real fine."
Doctor Emmanuel Zervos says Barbara is like many patients with pancreatic cancer. Surgery was not an option because the cancer had already spread.
Emmanuel Zervos, M.D.
Surgical Oncologist
Tampa General Hospital
Tampa, FL
"We are desperate to find some way to improve their quality of life and their survival."
That way could be this drug, Tarceva.
Emmanuel Zervos, M.D.
"It induces cell death, and it prevents cells from dividing and proliferating as a normal cancer cell would."
For the study, patients receive chemotherapy as well as Tarceva or a placebo.
Emmanuel Zervos, M.D.
"To see someone like Barbara and we have a number of patients in the trial that are doing better than average, offers us a lot of encouragement to continue to do these types of trials and have something to offer our patients."
Barbara admits she didn't want treatment at first. Now that it seems to be working, she's glad her family talked her into it.
Barbara Merrick
"Well, I'm hoping I'll live many more years and it will completely shrink."
For now, she's beating the odds and is thankful she's made it to spring.
Another benefit of the drug is it does not have harsh side effects. While the trial Barbara is in is not accepting patients anymore, Doctor Zervos says there are similar studies with other drugs that are available for patients with pancreatic cancer.
DISEASE BACKGROUND: When a patient is diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, often the prognosis is dismal. Each year, approximately 28,000 people are diagnosed with the disease, but only 15 percent of them are eligible for surgery. Surgery is the only curable option for these patients. The remaining patients are often given just three to five months to live if their cancer is caught when symptoms appear. In fact, pancreatic cancer is considered one of the few cancers where the death rate is equal to the incidence rate. One of the problems is the cancer is often not found until it has spread to other parts of the body. When this happens, surgery is not an option. For these patients, the standard chemotherapy is gemcitabine. Gemcitabine is the only approved first-line chemotherapy treatment for pancreatic cancer. Doctors say gemcitabine helps patients deal with the symptoms of the disease and improve their quality of life, but often does not extend their lifespan. That's why doctors say they are desperate for a drug that can improve patient survival.
NEW THERAPY: Tarceva is a small molecule that targets a part of the cell called the EGF receptor. The EGF receptor is responsible for cell growth. By doing this, the drug is designed to slow the rate at which new cancer cells divide by turning off internal growth pathways. A phase III clinical trial evaluating Tarceva in combination with gemcitabine in patients with advanced pancreatic cancer is underway. Study participants received the standard chemotherapy treatment along with either tarceva or a placebo. The primary goal of the study is to determine if patients survive longer with the addition of tarceva. While this study is a phase III study, this is the first trial of tarceva in pancreatic cancer. Phase I and II studies were conducted in patients with ovarian, head and neck, and lung cancer.
PAST RESEARCH: Studies have shown tarceva has anti-tumor activity and is well tolerated by patients. A phase II study in patients with head and neck cancer showed some activity against the disease. The patients were given tarceva as a single-agent treatment. Doctors say 12 percent of the patients had a response to the drug and 35 percent had stability of their cancer. Tarceva is an oral drug given in pill form. Doctors say if the pancreatic cancer research continues to be positive, tarceva could be the first oral drug approved for pancreatic cancer. Currently, the phase III trial for pancreatic cancer is full, but doctors say there are similar studies underway for future patients.
GENETIC CONNECTION: Emmanuel Zervos, M.D., from the University of South Florida and Tampa General Hospital, says 10 percent of pancreatic cancer cases are genetic. Dr. Zervos is researching familial pancreatic cancer patterns. Specifically, he is looking for pre-disposing genes to determine a genetic marker that might predict pancreatic cancer. He is testing tarceva's effectiveness on pancreatic cancer cell lines that have been grown in the laboratory.
Natalie Bayol
Tampa General Hospital
P.O. Box 1289 Room F145
Tampa, FL 33601
(813) 844-4543
Copyright © 2003 Ivanhoe Broadcast News, Inc.
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