Pancreatic cancer is considered one of the most deadly of cancers. The statistics are grim, as 95 percent of patients diagnosed with pancreatic cancer do not survive, and 50 percent of patients die within six months after the cancer is diagnosed. There might be some hope in an allergy medication that has been around for 40 years.

According to University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center researchers, the allergy medication cromolyn reduced pancreatic tumor growth in mouse model studies, and when the drug was combined with the chemotherapy drug gemcitabine, the standard chemotherapy treatment was three times more effective. They are reported to be in the process of starting a clinical trial.

The study's lead author, Craig Logsdon, Ph.D. is quoted as saying, "The study demonstrates in mouse models of human pancreatic cancer that the cromolyn-gemcitabine combination reduced cancer growth by 85 percent compared to control animals. Cromolyn used alone actually had a good effect on reduction of tumors compared to control animals, which surprised us. It reduced tumor growth by 70 percent, compared to growth reduction of 50 percent when gemcitabine was used as a single agent."

"Our goal is to offer longer life to these patients, and the combination of these two agents may well do that."

To learn more about pancreatic cancer, visit the pancreatic cancer category here and the National Cancer Institute's What You Need To Know About Cancer of the Pancreas.