Treatment of cancer with glufosfamide in patients not receiving insulin therapy
The co-administration of glufosfamide and a glucose lowering drug other than insulin is efficacious in cancer treatment.
1. A method of treating cancer in a patient, comprising the steps of:
(i) determining whether the patient is receiving insulin therapy, and
(ii) administering a therapeutically effective amount of glufosfamide to said patient only if it is determined that the patient is not receiving insulin therapy.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein said cancer is primary pancreatic cancer and/or gemcitabine resistant pancreatic cancer.
3. A method of treating cancer in a group of cancer patients, comprising the steps of:
(i) identifying patients in the group who are not receiving insulin therapy; and then (ii) administering a therapeutically effective amount of glufosfamide only to patients in the group who are identified as not receiving insulin therapy; thereby obtaining:
a first plurality of cancer patients within said group still receiving insulin therapy and not receiving glufosfamide; and
a second plurality of cancer patients within said group receiving glufosfamide and not receiving insulin therapy.
4. The method of claim 1 or claim 3 , further comprising administering to at least some of the cancer patients receiving glufosfamide therapy a blood glucose lowering drug other than insulin.
5. The method of claim 4 , wherein at least some of the patients treated with the blood glucose lowering drug have a normal glucose level at the time administration of the blood glucose lowering drug is initiated.
6. The method of claim 4 , wherein the blood glucose lowering drug is selected from sulfonylureas and thiazolidinediones.
7. The method of claim 4 , wherein the blood glucose lowering drug is selected from glipizide, glibenclamide, glimepiride, gliclazide, and rosiglitazone.
8. The method of claim 4 , wherein the blood glucose lowering drug is selected from acetohexamide, chloropropamide, metformin, nateglinide, pioglitazone, repaglinide, tolazamide, and tolbutamide.
9. The method of claim 1 or claim 3 , wherein the cancer is primary pancreatic cancer.
10. The method of claim 1 or claim 3 , wherein the cancer is chemotherapy resistant pancreatic cancer.