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Pancreatic proteolytic enzyme therapy compared with gemcitabine-based chemotherapy for the treatment of pancreatic cancer
Journal of Clinical Oncology, 08/24/09

Chabot JA et al. – A controlled, observational study reports that among patients with pancreatic cancer, gemcitabine-based chemotherapy improved the survival time >3 times with a better quality of life vs proteolytic enzyme treatment.

Methods

Phase III controlled trial of proteolytic enzyme therapy vs chemotherapy in pancreatic cancer pts
All pts met strict clinical criteria for eligibility
Of 55 pts who had inoperable pancreatic cancer:
- 23 elected gemcitabine-based chemotherapy, and
- 32 elected enzyme treatment, which included:
  - Pancreatic enzymes
  - Nutritional supplements
  - Detoxification, and
  - Organic diet
Primary and secondary outcomes were overall survival and quality of life, respectively

Results

At enrollment, the treatment groups had no differences in patient characteristics, pathology, QOL or clinically meaningful laboratory values
A 9.7-mo difference in median survival between the chemotherapy group and enzyme treatment groups
At 1 year: 56% of chemotherapy-group pts were alive vs 16% of enzyme-therapy pts
Quality of life ratings were better in the chemotherapy group vs enzyme-treated group

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