ORLANDO, Fla. (Ivanhoe Newswire) — Pancreatic cancer is a stubborn and difficult cancer to treat. In fact, it has the highest death rate of all major cancers. Now, researchers have found a new treatment protocol may help some people with this often-deadly cancer survive longer.
People with pancreatic cancer often face a grim outlook. Only about 13% will be alive five years.
Surgery is the key to beating this deadly cancer. Sometimes, patients receive chemotherapy after surgery. Now, a new study out of Yale looked at giving chemo before and after surgery.
Philip Kovoor, MD, Oncologist at Baylor Scott & White Medical Center says, “Neoadjuvant chemotherapy is what we term for individuals that need chemotherapy prior to surgery.”
Doctors hoped that this expanded chemo treatment plan would help wipe away any stray cancer cells in pancreatic cancer patients.
Doctor Kovoor says, “It helps us to clear margins and remove all cancer, and it also helps us to go after any seeds of cancer that may have spread.”
In the study, researchers followed 46 participants. For 67% of them, the disease did not worsen. And 59% lived at least two years after completing the chemo and surgery regimen. These numbers might not sound impressive but, when the study began, 90% of patients with operable pancreatic cancers were relapsing and dying eventually.
Doctor Kovoor studies and treats all forms of cancer and was not part of this study, but he shares what all cancer doctors seek: “Our goal, god willing, is to eradicate all signs of cancer.”
This study is one step closer to helping people with pancreatic cancer live longer and better.
While these findings are encouraging, only about 15% to 20% of people with pancreatic cancer are eligible for surgery. Most patients don’t find the cancer until it’s already spread throughout the body.
Contributors to this news report include: Julie Marks, Producer; Roque Correa, Editor.
Sources:
https://pancreatic.org/pancreatic-cancer/pancreatic-cancer-facts/
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/06/240620152236.htm
* For More Information, Contact: Susan Hall, Media Relations Manager
Baylor Scott & White Health
(214) 820-1817
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