Drug combination may extend pancreas cancer survival, trial finds

Liverpool University-led study found mix of two off-patent drugs upped five-year survival rate from 16% to 29% of patients

Nearly a third of patients with pancreatic cancer can survive for five years on a combination of two drugs which are off-patent and have been used separately for years, an important charity-funded trial has shown.

Twenty years ago, all those diagnosed with cancer of the pancreas died within 12 months. But an international team of researchers, led from the University of Liverpool, revealed at the world's biggest cancer drug conference that their trial has pushed the five-year survival rate from 16% to 29% of patients.