title: Effectiveness of chemotherapy for advanced adenocarcinoma of the pancreas in combined modality therapy.
abstract: Because it is difficult to diagnose at an early stage, pancreatic carcinoma is usually well advanced by the time it is diagnosed. The combined use of intraoperative radiotherapy, gastrointestinal and/or biliary tract bypass operation, celiac plexus nerve block, and chemotherapy is widely applied in treatment, with favorable results reported in some patients with advanced disease. To evaluate the efficacy of chemotherapy in such combinations, we compared the effect of 5-fluorouracil, its analogues, and mitomycin C on the survival of patients with advanced stage pancreatic cancer. We found no significant difference between the patients treated or not treated with these drugs. Clearly, there is a need for new agents having greater efficacy against pancreatic carcinoma.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, National Kyushu Cancer Center, Fukuoka.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kato
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Wakasugi
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Yokota
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Furukawa
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Mukuta
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yamada
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Funakoshi
mesh_terms: D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000532:radiotherapy / Q000601:surgery; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001340:Autonomic Nerve Block; D002447:Celiac Plexus; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D005260:Female; D005472:Fluorouracil / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016685:Mitomycin / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D010190:Pancreatic Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000532:radiotherapy / Q000601:surgery
chemical_list: D016685:Mitomycin; D005472:Fluorouracil