FDA Issues Consumer Update on Pancreatic Cancer

The US Food and Drug Administration periodically issues consumer updates to inform the public on the progress of research against specific diseases. Today they issued an update on the progress made and challenges facing pancreatic cancer. Below is a summary.

Pancreatic cancer, one of the deadliest cancers affecting both men and women, typically presents no symptoms until it reaches very advanced stages. Often, the only hope for cure is through surgery, but many patients are not candidates for surgery, and many of those that do undergo surgery still relapse and succumb to this deadly disease.

FDA Approvals

The FDA has approved three treatments in the past 20 years for advanced pancreatic cancer to help patients live longer:

• gemcitabine
• erlotinib in combination with gemcitabine
• nab-paclitaxel in combination with gemcitabine

“Today we know more about this form of cancer. We know it usually starts in the pancreatic ducts and that the KRAS gene is mutated in tumor samples from most patients with pancreatic cancer,” says Abhilasha Nair, M.D., an oncologist in the FDA team that works on cancers of the digestive system, including the stomach, pancreas and colon.

Pancreatic Cancer Statistics

Pancreatic cancer is the fourth leading cause of cancer death in the United States. Yearly, about 46,420 people will be diagnosed with the disease and 39,590 will die from it, according to the National Cancer Institute.

This cancer accounts for less than 3 percent of new cancer diagnoses each year, but it is aggressive and deadly. The five-year survival rate is only about 5 percent. If untreated, patients can die quickly, Nair says. Treatments include chemotherapy and, for some patients, surgery and/or radiation therapy.

The most frequent symptoms that bring patients to a health care provider are jaundice, back pain and unexplained weight loss. Other symptoms include new onset diabetes or worsening diabetes, nausea, vomiting, bowel changes, tiredness, weakness and changes in appetite.

Targeting Mutations

Research is underway to determine what factors boost the risk of pancreatic cancer. Thus far, they have uncovered a few:

• Smoking
• Pancreatitis (chronic inflammation of the pancreas, characterized by abdominal pain, chronic pain, loss of weigh and diarrhea)
• Longstanding diabetes
• Genetic changes (BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations)
• Lynch syndrome (an inherited disorder that increases the risk for certain cancers)

With these known risks, the work continues to identify drugs that target the KRAS mutation found in pancreatic tumors.

“Getting the right drug to target the right mutation would be a big break for treating patients with pancreatic cancer,” said Nair. “KRAS is a very evasive target. We need to learn more about it so we can better understand how to overcome it.”

To achieve that, scientists are digging deep into the cells of tumors to learn why pancreatic cancer is resistant to most available chemotherapy drugs.

“Something in the extracellular matrix (the tissue space between the tumor cells) may be preventing the tumor cells from being affected by chemotherapy,” Nair says. Much of the research focuses on the tumor’s environment, identifying ways to overcome the tumor’s defenses, and improving the delivery of chemotherapy directly to cancer cells.

Immune therapies are also a potential source of treatment. They have been shown to be successful against previously difficult-to-treat cancers such as melanoma, and with immunotherapy, a patient's own defenses get a boost.

“Not too long ago, the prognosis for melanoma patients was very poor. But with the advent of these new therapies that boost the patient’s own immune system, the landscape has greatly improved,” said Nair. “We hope that new research in pancreatic cancer will ultimately give us a similar if not better outcome in the fight against this aggressive cancer.”

Source: FDA Consumer Update Information

The information provided on CancerTreatment.net is designed to support, not replace, the relationship that exists between a patient/site visitor and his/her health professional. This information is solely for informational purposes and does not constitute the practice of medicine. We encourage all visitors to see a licensed physician or nutritionist if they have any concerns regarding health issues related to diet, personal image and any other topics discussed on this site. Neither the owners or employees of CancerTreatment.net nor the author(s) of site content take responsibility for any possible consequences from any treatment, procedure, exercise, dietary modification, action or application of medication which results from reading this site. Always speak with your primary health care provider before engaging in any form of self treatment. Please see our Legal Statement for further information.