Gemcitabine is the active ingredient in a drug that is used to treat pancreatic cancer that is advanced or has spread. It is also used together with other drugs to treat breast cancer that has spread, advanced ovarian cancer, and non-small cell lung cancer that is advanced or has spread. It is also being studied in the treatment of other types of cancer. Gemcitabine blocks the cell from making DNA and may kill cancer cells. It is a type of antimetabolite
Adding the cancer-fighting drug gemcitabine to standard therapy after surgery significantly improves survival for patients with the most common form of pancreatic cancer, according to a new multicenter study led by a University of Maryland radiation oncologist.
Eli Lilly and Company's enzastaurin, an investigational, multi-targeted therapy that is currently the focus of two global Phase III clinical trials, one for the treatment of glioblastoma and one in non-Hodgkin's lymphoma
Researchers in the U.S. say that preliminary research has suggested that nicotine can prevent chemotherapy drugs such as taxol from killing lung cancer cells.
The prognosis of pancreatic cancer is poor but new therapies such as gemcitabine have contributed to improving the outcome for patients. Data presented at the 13th European Conference (ECCO) revealed that using the combination of gemcitabine and capecitabine increased overall survival in some patients.
Genentech and OSI Pharmaceuticals have announced that U.S. regulators have approved their lung cancer drug Tarceva for the treatment of pancreatic cancer.
Pancreatic cancer is one of the most difficult cancers to treat, and has an overall one-year survival rate of only 13%.
The first advance in pancreatic cancer treatment in a decade has been achieved by researchers in a Canadian-led study, and at last gives some encouragement to scientists and invigorates a field that has experienced more than its share of disheartening failures.
Pancreatic cancer has a poor prognosis. More than 80% of patients present with advanced disease at diagnosis, and mortality is high. A single chemotherapy drug, gemcitabine, is regarded as the standard treatment, but it has lead to a 1-year overall survival of only 17—28% in clinical trials.
Pancreatic cancer kills 30,000 Americans every year. Not only is there no cure, but there are no effective treatments. That may change if a new finding by Mayo Clinic researchers continues to show promise.
Oncologists from USC/Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center are running tests on a new pancreatic cancer drug that targets the cancer from two directions.
OSI Pharmaceuticals and Genentech have announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved, after priority review, Tarceva (erlotinib) for the treatment of patients with locally advanced or metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) after failure of at least one prior chemotherapy regimen.
OSI Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Genentech, Inc., and Roche announced today that results from a randomized Phase III clinical study of the investigational drug Tarceva (erlotinib HCl), in combination with gemcitabine chemotherapy met its primary endpoint of improving survival.
For patients with invasive bladder cancer, treatment has typically meant an operation to remove the bladder and nearby organs. This requires up to a week in the hospital and leaves patients with a reconstructed bladder or urostomy bag.
Decision Resources, Inc., one of the world's leading research and advisory firms focusing on pharmaceutical and health care issues, finds that the benefits of current therapeutic options for pancreatic cancer are eclipsed by their toxicity and inconvenience, especially in advanced stages of the disease.
Breast cancer patients with advanced disease live longer when treated with a new drug, gemcitabine, in combination with paclitaxel, a traditional drug, according to results of a landmark global phase III study
The study, presented in a poster discussion session by Jason Fisher, a student at the University of Pittsburgh School of Engineering, analyzed data from 31 cancer patients given 30-minute infusions of gemcitabine to determine what percentage of the drug dose was associated with concentrations that exceeded the body's ability to activate the drug.
Breast cancer patients with advanced disease live longer when treated with a new drug, gemcitabine, in combination with paclitaxel, a traditional drug, according to results of a landmark global phase III study presented today at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) annual meeting.
A booster dose of a substance already found in the body appears to be safe and non-toxic for the treatment of pancreatic cancer, and shows signs of arresting pancreatic cancer cell growth in patients, Penn State College of Medicine researchers report.