Pancreatic Cancer

Also Know As Pancreatic Carcinoma

Efficacy of Alternative and Other Treatments According to GRADE* Ranking:

Selenium Supplement [7, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23]:

Please note, this management does NOT treat the condition itself. It may mildly help with some of the symptoms, and even then has insufficient evidence to back up this claim at present. IMPORTANT: Selenium is toxic in high doses. Massive overdoses can cause kidney failure, breathing difficulty and death. Selenium should only be taken at healthy levels which the body is able to tolerate.

Recommendation: Weakly in favor (Observational studies have shown that taking adequate daily amounts of selenium can help prevent pancreatic cancer. However, these are very unreliable studies, and more research is needed.)

Grade of Evidence: very low of evidence

* www.gradeworkinggroup.org

Kampo [7, 13, 14]:

Please note, this management does NOT treat the condition itself. It may mildly help with some of the symptoms, and even then has insufficient evidence to back up this claim at present.

Recommendation: Weakly in favor (Initial studies indicate a possible slowing of cancer growth in pancreatic cancer when using Kampo. However, more studies are needed, and the side effects of the treatment are relatively unknown.)

Grade of Evidence: moderate quality of evidence

Green Tea [7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12]:

Please note, this management does NOT treat the condition itself. It may mildly help with some of the symptoms, and even then has insufficient evidence to back up this claim at present.

Recommendation: Weakly in favor (Laboratory studies have shown promise with regards to the prevention of pancreatic cancer with green tea, but very few reliable clinical trials have been done. More research is needed.)

Grade of Evidence: low quality of evidence

Calcium Gluconate:

Please note, this management does NOT treat the condition itself. It is proposed only as a preventative or supportive management, not as a treatment.

Recommendation: weakly in favor (Calcium supplements have been shown to be effective in reducing the risk of pancreatic cancer)

Grade of Evidence: moderate quality of evidence

Calcium Supplements:

Please note, this management does NOT treat the condition itself. It is proposed only as a preventative or supportive management, not as a treatment.

Recommendation: weakly in favor (Calcium supplements have been shown to be effective in reducing the risk of pancreatic cancer)

Grade of Evidence: moderate quality of evidence

* www.gradeworkinggroup.org

Summary References

Treatments:
1. "FDA approval briefing"

2. Demols A, Peeters M, Polus M, et al. (February 2006). "Gemcitabine and oxaliplatin (GEMOX) in gemcitabine refractory advanced pancreatic adenocarcinoma: a phase II study". British Journal of Cancer 94 (4): 481–5. doi:10.1038/sj.bjc.6602966

3. "Surgical Treatment of Pancreatic Cancer". Johns Hopkins University. http://pathology.jhu.edu/pancreas/TreatmentSurgery.php. Retrieved 5 September 2009.

4. Neoptolemos JP, Stocken DD, Friess H, et al. (March 2004). "A randomized trial of chemoradiotherapy and chemotherapy after resection of pancreatic cancer". The New England Journal of Medicine 350 (12): 1200–10. doi:10.1056/NEJMoa032295

5. Philip Agop, "Pancreatic Cancer". ACP PIER & AHFX DI Essentials. American College of Physicians. 4 Apr 2008. Accessed 7 Apr 2009.

6. http://www.merck.com/mmpe/sec02/ch021/ch021i.html?qt=cancer&alt=sh#sec02-ch021-ch021g-1550a

7. Ades T, Alteri R, Gansler T, Yeargin P, "Complete Guide to Complimentary & Alternative Cancer Therapies", American Cancer Society, Atlanta USA, 2009

8. http://www.cancer.org/Treatment/TreatmentsandSideEffects/ComplementaryandAlternativeMedicine/HerbsVitaminsandMinerals/green-tea

9. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16968850

10.  http://www.denverpost.com/nationworld/ci_4326770

11. http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/natural/patient-green_tea.html

12. http://nccam.nih.gov/health/greentea/index.htm

13. Shibata, Yoshiharu and Jean Wu. "Kampo Treatment for Climacteric Disorders: A Handbook for Practitioners." Paradigm Publications, 1997

14. http://www.cancer.org/Treatment/TreatmentsandSideEffects/ComplementaryandAlternativeMedicine/HerbsVitaminsandMinerals/kampo

15. http://www.cancer.org/Treatment/TreatmentsandSideEffects/ComplementaryandAlternativeMedicine/HerbsVitaminsandMinerals/selenium?sitearea=ETO

16. http://www.cancer.gov/Templates/doc.aspx?viewid=ED8AD8E8-6AE5-458D-8091-393F4CB73F0D

17. http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/natural/patient-selenium.html

18. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9290116

19. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9829869

20. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10335455

21. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2136228

22. http://www.springerlink.com/content/v0r644v4ju5153k2/

23. http://jnci.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/full/101/5/283

Public Discussion