Electric Pulses May Help in Pancreatic Cancer
Both remain disease-free at 346 and 225 days after resection, Narayanan said.
Of the other six patients, one had progressive disease after 3 months, while another had a negative follow-up PET scan and surgery is planned.
Two other patients are still being monitored for the possibility of surgery, and two were lost to follow-up, he said.
He added that there were no major complications with the procedure and that it appears safe.
PANCREATIC CANCER FACTS
- Pancreatic cancer may cause only vague symptoms that could indicate many different conditions within the abdomen or gastrointestinal tract. Symptoms include pain (usually abdominal or back pain), weight loss, jaundice (yellowing of the skin and eyes), loss of appetite, nausea, changes in stool, and diabetes.
- Symptoms include pain (usually abdominal or back pain), weight loss, jaundice (yellowing of the skin and eyes), loss of appetite, nausea, changes in stool, and diabetes.
- Treatment options for pancreatic cancer are limited. Surgical removal of the tumor is possible in less than 20% of patients diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Chemotherapy or chemotherapy together with radiation is typically offered to patients whose tumors cannot be removed surgically. Only three drugs are FDA-approved for the treatment of pancreatic cancer: fluorouracil (5-FU), gemcitabine (Gemzar®), and erlotinib (Tarceva®).
- Pancreatic cancer is a leading cause of cancer death largely because there are no detection tools to diagnose the disease in its early stages when surgical removal of the tumor is still possible.
- The National Cancer Institute (NCI) spent an estimated $97.1 million on pancreatic cancer research in 2010. This represented a mere 2% of the NCI’s approximate $5 billion cancer research budget for that year.
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- Source for statistics: American Cancer Society: Cancer Facts & Figures 2011 and NCI Funded Research Portfolio.
“We have not seen any major injury to blood vessels, and there are minimal side effects and morbidity,” Narayanan said.
He called for larger trials to validate the results of this small study and estimated that within 2 years a sufficient body of evidence may have accumulated to support use of the therapy in pancreatic cancer.
Suresh Vedantham, MD, of Washington University in St. Louis, Mo., moderated the press briefing during which the results were presented. He said interventional radiology is opening up a wide range of options for cancer patients.
“Interventional oncology is becoming more of a pillar of oncology,” he said, adding that interventionalists are looking to work more closely with all parties involved in cancer treatment.
Narayanan reported relationships with Angiodynamics.
Primary source: Society of Interventional Radiology
Source reference: Narayanan G, et al “Downstaging locally advanced pancreatic adenocarcinoma with vascular encasement using percutaneous irreversible electroporation (IRE)” SIR 2012; Abstract 8.