title: Sequential polychemotherapy in exocrine pancreatic cancer.
abstract: The results of palliative chemotherapy in 162 patients suffering from exocrine pancreatic cancer are presented. They are mainly discussed with respect to the possibility of improving survival of exocrine pancreatic cancer patients by an efficacy-orientated sequential polychemotherapy (EOSP). In about 40% of the patients treated between 1998 and 2001, sequential chemotherapy induced more than one effective treatment in the case that SD after a progressive prephase as well as MR, PR and CR are considered as antitumoral efficacy. Sequential polychemotherapy seems to be able to prolong the survival of these patients. The whole group of patients showed a 1-year survival of 56% and a 2-year survival of 16%. Especially in the case of metastasized tumor disease (M1), sequential polychemotherapy seems to be able to prolong survival: 45% of the metastasized tumor patients survived more than 1 year, 12% more than 2 years. The median survival for the whole group of locally advanced tumors was 15 months and the median survival for the whole group of metastasized tumors was 8 months. The results should stimulate clinicians to try palliative chemotherapy for pancreatic cancer more actively than before and to rediscuss the actual concepts of prospective therapeutical trials mainly based on analysing the effects of single agents or drug combinations on survival.
authors.affiliation: Medical Department, Jerusalem Hospital, ZeTDT GmbH, Hamburg, Germany.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Klapdor
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bahlo
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Babinski
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Broemel
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Müller
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Seutter
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000032:analysis; D004334:Drug Administration Schedule; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D010166:Palliative Care; D010190:Pancreatic Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D016019:Survival Analysis; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor