Pancreatic cancer is the fourth leading cause of cancer death in the United States and is responsible for an estimated 270,000 deaths worldwide each year (Ferlay 2010).
Multiple factors, including a complex and poorly understood pathophysiology and difficulty in early detection and diagnosis make successful treatment of pancreatic cancer extremely challenging. Pancreatic cancer is typically not detected until it has already reached a locally advanced or metastatic stage due to the relative lack of symptoms in early disease. Current standard of care comprises surgery if the tumor is contained within the pancreas, followed by adjuvant chemotherapy and possibly radiation. However, if the cancer has spread, conventional treatment is limited, and long-term survival rates remain very low.
The rapidly accelerating use of specialized immunotherapies and innovative genetic analysis technology represent the next generation of novel medical treatments for pancreatic cancer. The ability to tailor treatment based upon the unique molecular biology of a patient’s cancer promises to considerably improve a currently bleak outlook.
Life Extension advocates a comprehensive pancreatic cancer management stratagey including intensive cancer cell biology testing to determine which specific conventional therapies are most likely to be effective. Off-label use of pharmaceutical agents such as metformin and chloroquine, an anti-malaria drug, hold promise in the treatment of pancreatic cancer as well. In addition, select nutritional ingredients can combat genetic abnormalities common in pancreatic cancer cells and offer an affordable means to pharmacogenomically target pancreatic cancer progression for all patients.
Life Extension Foundation® will be funding an aggressive, multidisciplinary pancreatic cancer clinical trial at the City of Hope Cancer Center. This groundbreaking trial will assess the effects of conventional chemotherapy in combination with various natural ingredients discussed in this protocol in patients with locally advanced unrescetable or metastatic pancreatic cancer.