THE OLIVE LABORATORY
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    • A non-technical overview >
      • The Pancreas (Overview)
      • Pre-cancerous lesions (Overview)
      • Pancreatic Cancer (Overview)
      • Pancreatic Cancer Statistics
      • Symptoms and Diagnosis
      • Surgery for Pancreatic Cancer (Overview)
      • Drug Treatment (Overview)
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      • Clinical Trials
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    • Facilities >
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      • Vevo 3100 Ultrasound
    • Join Us!
    • Oncology Precision Therapeutics Core >
      • MRI
      • Ivis Optical Imager
      • Vevo 3100 Ultrasound
      • Perkin-Elmer FX micro CT
    • Photos >
      • 10/30/19 Fall Fun
      • 6/29/18 Jaime's Last Day
      • 9/26/15 Mike's Wedding
      • 11/8/14 Carmine's Wedding
      • 7/7/14 Barbara's Temporary Goodbye Lunch
      • 4/26/13 Korean and Karaoke
      • 4/12/13 Purple Stride
      • 11/26/12 Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Week!!
      • 10/26/12 Pumpkin Carving
      • 9/5-7/2012 Olive and Kimmelman Lab Retreat
      • 7/13/12 Mid-summer BBQ
      • 3/29/12 Jennifer's Goodbye - BoardGame Night
      • 3/8/2012 Barbara's engagement celebration
      • 3/2/2012 Bowling
      • 12/18/2011 Holiday Party
      • 12/9/2011 Poker
      • 11/11/2011 Karaoke
      • 7/15/2011 Holiday Party
    • Support

Drug Treatment

Most pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma patients who are not on clinical trials will currently receive one of three standard regimens. These regimens have been shown to have different levels of benefit, but with a trade-off for increasing toxicity. The selection between these different regimens is a choice that patient will have to make for themselves, with the advice of their oncologist, depending on their own person priorities.

gemcitabine (Gemzar) - was approved in 1997 and is the gentlest of the three treatments. Average survival for first-line metastatic pancreatic cancer patients receiving gemcitabine is ~6 months. However, the agent is very well tolerated and many patients report actually feeling better on this chemotherapy then without it (improved quality of life). 

gemcitabine + nab-paclitaxel (Gemzar/Abraxane) - this regimen has improved efficacy over gemcitabine but is a bit more toxic. The average overall survival is closer to 9 months for this regimen. It is the typical regiment that is used as a "backbone" in clinical trials of new drugs, meaning that new agents are often tested in combination with this standard treatment. 

5-fluorouracil + irinotecan + oxaliplatin + leukovorin (FOLFIRINOX) - this is the most aggressive regimen, and also the most toxic. The average overall survival is about 11 months for this regimen, but some patients have great difficulty tolerating it. 

A small number of additional agents have been approved in combinations, but are not widely utilized for a variety of reasons.
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  • Home
  • Science
    • Olive Lab Research
    • Pancreatic Cancer
    • Mouse Hospital
    • The KPC Model
    • Imaging
  • Lab Members
    • Alumni
  • Publications
  • More
    • A non-technical overview >
      • The Pancreas (Overview)
      • Pre-cancerous lesions (Overview)
      • Pancreatic Cancer (Overview)
      • Pancreatic Cancer Statistics
      • Symptoms and Diagnosis
      • Surgery for Pancreatic Cancer (Overview)
      • Drug Treatment (Overview)
      • Mouse Models (Overview)
      • Clinical Trials
    • Donate
    • Facilities >
      • ICRC Building
      • Shared Resources
      • Main Lab
      • Vevo 3100 Ultrasound
    • Join Us!
    • Oncology Precision Therapeutics Core >
      • MRI
      • Ivis Optical Imager
      • Vevo 3100 Ultrasound
      • Perkin-Elmer FX micro CT
    • Photos >
      • 10/30/19 Fall Fun
      • 6/29/18 Jaime's Last Day
      • 9/26/15 Mike's Wedding
      • 11/8/14 Carmine's Wedding
      • 7/7/14 Barbara's Temporary Goodbye Lunch
      • 4/26/13 Korean and Karaoke
      • 4/12/13 Purple Stride
      • 11/26/12 Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Week!!
      • 10/26/12 Pumpkin Carving
      • 9/5-7/2012 Olive and Kimmelman Lab Retreat
      • 7/13/12 Mid-summer BBQ
      • 3/29/12 Jennifer's Goodbye - BoardGame Night
      • 3/8/2012 Barbara's engagement celebration
      • 3/2/2012 Bowling
      • 12/18/2011 Holiday Party
      • 12/9/2011 Poker
      • 11/11/2011 Karaoke
      • 7/15/2011 Holiday Party
    • Support