Final results from the randomized trial of Sutent in pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors was released in Orlando today, and they are good enough to send Pfizer to the FDA seeking an approval. Evidently Sutent extended overall (a secondary endpoint) and progression-free survival in the studies, according to researchers.

This was in a pretreated population of patients. Sutent was compared to placebo, so the setting appears to be people with advanced disease.

These results are very preliminary but suggest a delay in the progression of islet-cell pancreatic cancer. Shares of Pfizer rose on the news. "These and previously reported phase 2 data contribute to the growing body of evidence indicating activity with sunitinib in patients with pancreatic islet cell tumors " said Dr. Mace Rothenberg recently of Pfizer (joined "the dark side" after a nice academic career in clinical oncology). I was his chaperone on tour around Grady Hospital when he came to visit. http://health.usnews.com/articles/health/healthday/2009/03/12/pancreatic...

Pancreatic cancer moderately associated with Hepatitis B infection

New pancreatic cancer drug shows "substantial" success

In what has been called by Medical News Today "a significant breakthrough in the fight against two of the world's deadliest cancers" scientists in the US have mapped out the complete genetic blueprint of more than twenty thousand genes that are involved in 24 pancreatic cancers and 22 brain cancers. The genetic mapping includes not only the single gene mutation but also the pathways which connect them and which help to keep the tumors growing and developing.