HIGHLIGHT ARTICLE

JOP. J Pancreas (Online) 2008; 9(4):403-407.

Is there a Role for Herbal Medicine in the Treatment of Pancreatic Cancer?
Highlights from the “44th ASCO Annual Meeting”. Chicago, IL, USA. May 30 - June 3, 2008

Muhammad Wasif Saif

Medical Oncology, Yale University School of Medicine. New Haven, CT, USA

Summary

One of the greatest challenges in the treatment of pancreatic cancer remains its inherent lack of beneficial response to cytotoxic chemotherapy. According to the encyclopedic knowledge on herbal medicine regimen and clinical experience accumulated for centuries, traditional Chinese medicine can provide new avenues for alternative treatments of pancreatic diseases. Chinese herbal extracts have been widely used for the treatment of various cancers, but objective information on their efficacy in pancreatic cancer is lacking. This article provides a summary of herbal medicine, presented at the Annual Meeting of ASCO, 2008. The clinical applications of these active compounds warrant further investigation in randomized, controlled clinical trials.

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Keywords Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic; capecitabine; Curcumin; Drugs, Chinese Herbal; Medicine, Chinese Traditional; NF-kappa B; Pancreas; Pancreatic Neoplasms; PHY 906

Correspondence Muhammad Wasif Saif: wasif.saif@yale.edu

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