Author Archives: pancreatica
SOX Chemo Regimen as 2nd Line for Pancreatic Cancer
Acronyms in medicine are often a hoot. We have the four-drug combination called FOLFIRINOX for advanced pancreatic cancer (ductal adenocarcinoma of the pancreas). Recently, here at Pancreatica we reported on a study of a three-drug version of the above termed: OFF. Now comes a review of the regimen of S-1 plus oxaliplatin by Japanese researchers, […]
DNA Epigenetic Changes for the Earlier Diagnosis of Pancreatic Cancer
In an absolutely remarkable, fascinating and possible game-changing study, Joo Mi Yi and Nita Ahuja and colleagues (primarily) from Johns Hopkins University have identified a “panel” of biomarkers based on DNA methylation of two relatively obscure genes (that can be identified in serum) for use, at least at an experimental level at this stage, for […]
Tarceva Plus Gemcitabine After Surgery for Pancreatic Cancer ?
Gress and colleagues from the University of Marburg in Germany published the results of a Phase II trial in the October 2013 issue of the Annals of Oncology, the official journal of the European Society for Medical Oncology. They did a prospective multi-center study of 76 pancreatic cancer (ductal adenocarcinoma of the pancreas) patients over […]
Three Things that Aren’t True About Pancreatic Cancer
“Half the lies they tell about me aren’t true.” -Yogi Berra There are legitimate controversies in pancreatic cancer. Often over time, the pendulum can swing to one side or the other of a scientific conflict – as new evidence supports a contention or not. Sometimes, with a greater understanding of the complexity of an issue, […]
GVAX Immunotherapy and Hematologic Status in Pancreatic Cancer
As noted in an earlier blog, GVAX is a kind of vaccine that appears to work by enhancing “granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor” (GM-CSF) which in turn enhances white blood cells including monocytes that can somewhat freely move and have the ability to transform into so-called “professional” antigen-presenting cells such as macrophages and dendritic cells – which […]