THURSDAY, Nov. 3 (HealthDay News)-- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved the use of the drug Tarceva (erlotinib) in combination with gemcitabine chemotherapy for treatment of advanced pancreatic cancer in patients who have not received previous treatment.
The FDA approval is based on Phase III clinical trial results that found that 100 mg a day of Tarceva in combination with gemcitabine improved overall survival by 23 percent in patients with unresectable locally advanced or metastatic pancreatic cancer, compared with patients who took a placebo in combination with gemcitabine.
After one year, 24 percent of patients receiving Tarceva/gemcitabine were alive, compared with 19 percent of patients receiving placebo/gemcitabine. The global study was conducted by the National Cancer Institute of Canada in collaboration with OSI Pharmaceuticals.
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