Treatment with Tarceva

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Taking Tarceva

Tarceva is a pill you take once a day, every day. It‘s a targeted therapy given in combination with a traditional chemotherapy drug, gemcitabine.

The chemotherapy drug gemcitabine is the most common treatment used for pancreatic cancer. A large clinical study proved that taking Tarceva (erlotinib) while receiving gemcitabine is a promising option for treating advanced pancreatic cancer.

Trusted cancer therapies come together

Tarceva and gemcitabine are each effective alone in treating other forms of cancer. Based on results from a large clinical study, the combination of Tarceva plus gemcitabine worked to treat pancreatic cancer. As such, Tarceva plus gemcitabine represents a step forward in treating this disease.

Who may use Tarceva plus gemcitabine therapy

Tarceva in combination with gemcitabine is prescribed for patients who have not received previous chemotherapy for locally advanced pancreatic cancer, pancreatic cancer that cannot be surgically removed or pancreatic cancer that has spread to distant body organs.

What is gemcitabine?

Gemcitabine is a chemotherapy that interferes with a part of the cell's life cycle that plays a key role in cell division. Cell division is needed for tumors to grow and spread.

How Tarceva plus gemcitabine therapy is administered

Tarceva is a pill you take once a day -- every day -- to help treat pancreatic cancer. It is important to take Tarceva one hour before or two hours after eating. The recommended dose is 100 mg a day for the treatment of pancreatic cancer. Ask your doctor or nurse to explain how Tarceva fits into the gemcitabine treatment schedule.

Gemcitabine is given to you as an infusion through a needle inserted into your vein. Chemotherapy, such as gemcitabine, is given at a set time within a certain period. Ask your doctor or nurse to give you more information about Tarceva plus gemcitabine combination therapy.

Please see full Prescribing Information