Cancer chemotherapy is the use of drugs to kill cancer cells.
Unlike radiation and surgery, which are localized treatments,
chemotherapy is a systemic treatment, meaning the drugs travel
throughout the whole body. This means chemotherapy can reach
cancer cells that may have spread, or metastasized, to other
areas. Chemotherapy is usually combined with other types of
treatment (surgery, radiation therapy) in an attempt to do the
following: - Cure smaller, early-stage pancreatic cancer -
Increase survival time in more advanced pancreatic cancer
(Although, this usually means only by a matter of months.) -
Provide some symptom relief Chemotherapy Drugs Used for
Pancreatic Cancer - Fluorouracil (5-FU) - Gemcitabine (the first
line treatment) - Gemcitabine plus erlotinib (Tarceva)—first
line treatment - Cisplatin (Blastolem RU, Tecnoplatin) -
Investigational agents (experimental treatments) -
Streptozotocin (for endocrine tumors) Gemcitabine, used alone or
in combination with other chemotherapy agents, seems to imp