Radical Resection Effective against Pancreatic Cancer

Radical surgical resection, considered to be the only curative approach in the treatment of pancreatic cancer, appears to be worthwhile in appropriate patients, claims a new study.

Researchers at the Michael E. DeBakey Veterans Affairs (VA) Medical Center (Houston, TX, USA) studied 32,348 cases of pancreatic cancer that occurred between 1987 and 2001, using data from nine registries of the Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) program. The researchers examined the predictors of receiving curative intent surgery (CIS) as well as the survival of patients receiving CIS. In all, 3,545 of the patients (10.9%) received CIS. This proportion decreased significantly with age and with advanced disease stage, but increased over time. Although there were significant regional differences, the proportion of patients undergoing CIS rose from 7.5% in 1987 to 1989 to 13.4% in 1999 to 2001.

The researchers found that survival rates at one year were 53% for patients undergoing CIS compared with 20.6% among those who did not receive CIS; corresponding figures at three years were 12.2% versus 2.0%. In addition, although CIS rates were similar across racial groups, being black was an independent predictor of shorter survival. Early stage disease, female gender, younger age, geographic location, and more recent time periods were found to be predictors of receiving CIS. The study was reported in the July 2007 issue of the American Journal of Gastroenterology.

"This study shows that patients receiving curative intent surgery for pancreatic cancer do better than those who do not,” said lead author Dr. Yasser Shaib. "More aggressive surgical therapy should be considered in eligible patients. In addition, efforts should focus on detecting pancreatic cancer early so that curative surgery can be offered.


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Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center