Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Pancreatic cancer: Trial drug MRK003 shows promise

Doctors want to improve the prognosis of this aggressive cancer. Scientists say they may have found a new weapon against pancreatic cancer after promising early trial results of an experimental drug combination.

Giving the chemotherapy agent gemcitabine with an experimental drug called MRK003 sets off a chain of events that ultimately kills cancer cells, studies in mice show.

Father-of-two Richard Griffiths, 41, from Coventry, has been on the trial since being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in May 2011. "After six cycles of treatment, a scan showed the tumours had reduced and so I have continued with the treatment," he said.

Professor Duncan Jodrell, who is leading the trials at the University of Cambridge, said: "We're delighted that the results of this important research are now being evaluated in a clinical trial, to test whether this might be a new treatment approach for patients with pancreatic cancer.

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