Study reveals four-drug chemotherapy regimens treat metastatic pancreas cancer

In Phase 3 clinical trial for metastatic pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma, a four-drug chemotherapy treatment led to a longer overall survival than a two-drug combination. The study is considered to be the first metastatic pancreatic cancer study in nearly a decade with a successful overall survival outcome. For the study, 770 patients were randomly assigned to one of two chemotherapy regimens. Patients in the four-drug group had an overall survival of 11.1 months, compared with 9.2 months for those in the two-drug arm. Progression-free survival also increased with the four-drug therapy - 7.4 months versus 5.6 months with the two-drug regimen. This study indicates that the more aggressive chemotherapy approach should be considered for those patients who are able to tolerate it. Metastatic pancreas cancer has long been recognized as a very difficult type of cancer to treat, but this study represents a possible new reference standard for current treatment and for future research and drug development.