Chemotherapeutic drugs and gallbladder cancer: Market potential in India

Abstract

Gallbladder cancer (GBC) is the most fatal cancer of the biliary tract with poor prognosis. Silent in its infancy, this malignancy remains asymptomatic until aggressive disease has progressed to an advanced and non-curative stage. The overall mean survival rate for patients with GBC is less than 6 months, with a 5-year survival rate of approximately 5% with a high relapse rate. Treatment depends upon the stage of disease, patient’s age, nutritional status, performance status, and cardiopulmonary, hepatic, and renal functions. Complete surgical resection is considered the most curative modality for GBC. Chemotherapy has recently shown its effect on gallbladder cancer. Therapeutic agents, targeting cellular and molecular pathways, can effectively impede tumor growth. Newer drugs are being developed that work which target specific parts of cancer cells or their surrounding environments like tumor blood vessels. This chapter discusses market of chemotherapeutic drugs in India and market drives and government initiatives for the promotion of pharmaceutical sector in India with special emphasis on GBC.