UCLA researchers create new method that targets tumors with the same effectiveness but a significant reduction in both side effects and cost.

Pancreatic cancer:
Pancreatic cancer, a devastating disease with a five-year survival rate of 5 percent, is difficult to detect early and symptoms do not usually appear until the disease is advanced. As a result, many people are not diagnosed until their tumors are beyond the effective limits of surgery, leaving chemotherapy as the only viable treatment option. The chemotherapy drug most often used for pancreas cancer is gemcitabine, but its impact is often limited.

Research:
Recent research has found that combining gemcitabine with another drug called paclitaxel can improve the overall treatment effect. In the current method, Abraxane — a nano complex containing paclitaxel — and gemcitabine are given separately, which works to a degree, but because the drugs may stay in the body for different lengths of time, the combined beneficial effect is not fully synchronized.Initially the treatment tested in mice.In the mice that received the drugs inside the nanoparticle, pancreas tumors shrank dramatically.And also tumor spread, to nearby organs was eradicated in these mice.

For more information.

Edited March 24, 201510 yr by RamyaS

UCLA researchers create new method that targets tumors with the same effectiveness but a significant reduction in both side effects and cost.

 

Pancreatic cancer:

Pancreatic cancer, a devastating disease with a five-year survival rate of 5 percent, is difficult to detect early and symptoms do not usually appear until the disease is advanced. As a result, many people are not diagnosed until their tumors are beyond the effective limits of surgery, leaving chemotherapy as the only viable treatment option. The chemotherapy drug most often used for pancreas cancer is gemcitabine, but its impact is often limited.

 

Research:

Recent research has found that combining gemcitabine with another drug called paclitaxel can improve the overall treatment effect. In the current method, Abraxane — a nano complex containing paclitaxel — and gemcitabine are given separately, which works to a degree, but because the drugs may stay in the body for different lengths of time, the combined beneficial effect is not fully synchronized.Initially the treatment tested in mice.In the mice that received the drugs inside the nanoparticle, pancreas tumors shrank dramatically.And also tumor spread, to nearby organs was eradicated in these mice.

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For more information.

 

The eradication of tumor-spread to nearby organs is very big. If cancer does not metastasize (spread) it can eventually be eliminated by chemo therapy and/or radiology.

There are some nice treatments finally coming out.

This is huge news, but I am curious why it was not posted under 'Medical Science'?

Nanotechnology is showing great progress in the field of medicine. Starting from early diagnosis to artificial kidney. Treating pancreatic cancer is one amongst them. But it will take time to fully implement these technologies on human.