New cancer treatment shrinks pancreatic tumour

7 December 2008

A new cancer treatment is realising outstanding results against pancreatic cancer. Following five weeks of treatment, a patient's large, stage 4 tumour was reduced in size by 70%. After seven more weeks of treatment, it no longer could be definitely identified on scans. Pancreatic cancer usually is fatal six to nine months after diagnosis. NeoPlas Innovation's combination of FDA-approved drugs appears to improve those odds for some patients, based on this result and similar ones seen before the protocol's public availability.

The tumour reduction correlated with resolution of the patient's symptoms of pain and digestive problems. "The cancer isn't gone," emphasised NeoPlas Innovation Director of Research Dr. Stephen B. Cantrell. "There are still several metastatic lesions to address, but this kind of response is virtually unheard of in pancreatic cancer. At the very least, we're looking at his having many, many months of added survival with a quality of life he can truly enjoy."

The patient's daughter discussed her father's treatment, saying "He began the NeoPlas treatment after he became too ill to complete his final course of radiation following chemotherapy." She added, "Since then, he has been able to resume work two to three hours a day, go to lunch with other men and even take a ten-day trip to Europe with my brother."

The cholesterol drug Lovastatin is a key part of this treatment that has arrested or eradicated tumours in 78% of initial patients. The first person treated with the investigative protocol in 2000 had stage 4 melanoma; he remains disease-free today.

Based on experience and relevant lab research to date, staff members expect the best results for several malignancies. In addition to pancreatic cancer and melanoma, they include colon cancer, renal (kidney) cancer, mesothelioma, and a group of sarcomas, including osteosarcoma, chondrosarcoma and malignant fibrous histiocytoma.

Fatigue is the most notable side effect of NeoPlas Innovation's cancer treatment. Most patients never experience effects commonly affiliated with chemotherapy or radiation (nausea, vomiting, hair loss, bone marrow suppression or immune system suppression). An experienced physician prescribes and monitors the outpatient treatment.

(Source: NeoPlas Innovation: December 2008)