Treatment of pancreatic cancer is difficult because it is a cancer that takes a long time to develop without any characteristic symptoms. There is also no good screening regimen for early diagnosis of the disease. Does the patient have any chances despite late diagnosis? What are the new treatment regimens for pancreatic cancer?
Pancreatic cancer treatmenthas moved on. In recent years, new treatment options for this cancer have appeared, but this has not changed the fact that 95 percent in cases it is an incurable disease. Doctors emphasize thattherapy in pancreatic canceris unsatisfactory for both the patient and the oncologist. Unfortunately, this is confirmed by statistical data. Most patients (20%) die within a year of tumor detection. Only 5.7 percent. lives longer than five years (currently nearly 14,000 people with pancreatic cancer live in Europe). However, the struggle with this cancer does not end there.
Only 10-20 percent patients with diagnosed pancreatic cancer are potentially eligible for surgery, which is the only chance of a cure. For some patients, however, surgery is not a guarantee of recovery. Even after surgical intervention and the use of adjuvant chemotherapy and radiotherapy, 80% patients will experience relapse or metastasis to other organs within two years.
New pancreatic cancer treatment regimens give patients a better chance
Treatment of advanced pancreatic cancer is a huge challenge for oncologists around the world. The use of standard therapy allows you to extend your life by half a year. This is possible thanks to chemotherapy in which they are given a drug called gemcitabine. The treatment regimens developed three years ago offer new hopes for extending the life of patients, the first of which, called Folfirinox, is a composition of four cytotoxic drugs. After their administration, nearly 48 percent. the sick live for over a year. But there is also a significant downside to this therapy. It is a very aggressive, very toxic treatment and can only be used in people who are generally in good condition. Considering the age of the majority of patients, who are burdened with numerous diseases for this reason, the decision to implement the treatment is not easy. The second treatment regimen is the simultaneous use of gemcitabine with a drug called nab-paclitaxel. The effectiveness of thistherapy was assessed in clinical trials - it was found that approx. 35 percent. the sick survived for over a year. Although this is a worse result compared to the previous treatment model, the administration of two drugs is less toxic. Therefore, it can be used in elderly people who are in a worse condition.
Pancreatic cancer treatment in Poland
Unfortunately, in Poland new treatment regimens are implemented only in a few cases as part of non-standard chemotherapy. Reason? Formal considerations. Nab-paclitaxel has not yet been evaluated by the He alth Technology Assessment Agency. So you have to wait. The problem with Folfirinox is that one of the drugs in this chemotherapy is not licensed for pancreatic cancer. According to the provisions of the Reimbursement Act, it cannot be administered for the treatment of pancreatic cancer. None of the companies that manufacture the drug is interested in spending money on expanding registration. It is an old drug that has long since been patent-free, so it has had many generic successors. Without it, however, the therapy has no medical value. Perhaps the Agency will consider approving Folfirinox to provide a new option for patients with advanced pancreatic cancer, but for now, there is hope for patients and to undergo treatment, which has many side effects.
ImportantDiagnosing pancreatic cancer
If pancreatic cancer is suspected, the patient is referred for computed tomography (CT) of the abdominal cavity. Typically, the examination identifies the site of the primary tumor in relation to the superior mesenteric artery, the mesenteric vein, and other vital organs and blood vessels. If the CT scan does not provide diagnostic certainty, endoscopic ultrasound is performed to detect tumors smaller than 3 mm in diameter.