EFFECTIVENESS OF CHEMOTHERAPY FOR ADVANCED ADENOCARCINOMA OF THE PANCREAS IN COMBINED-MODALITY THERAPY

Because it is difficult to diagnose at an early stage, pancreatic carc inoma is usually well advanced by the time it is diagnosed. The combin ed use of intraoperative radiotherapy, gastrointestinal and/or biliary tract bypass operation, celiac plexus nerve block, and chemotherapy i s widely applied in treatment, with favorable results reported in some patients with advanced disease. To evaluate the efficacy of chemother apy in such combinations, we compared the effect of 5-fluorouracil, it s analogues, and mitomycin C on the survival of patients with advanced stage pancreatic cancer. We found no significant difference between t he patients treated or not treated with these drugs. Clearly, there is a need for new agents having greater efficacy against pancreatic carc inoma.