Timing of Chemo Could Be Key to Pancreatic Cancer Outcomes [Video]

Key Takeaways

Pancreatic cancer is only operable in between 15 and 20% of casesFor these patients, giving chemo both before and after the surgery may optimize outcomesIn a small study, 59% of patients who underwent this approach lived at least two years after their surgery

MONDAY, June 24, 2024 (HealthDay News) — Giving people with pancreatic cancer chemotherapy both before and after a tumor-removing surgery brought better outcomes than if they got the drugs only after the surgery, new research shows.

Researchers at the Yale Cancer Center (YCC) and Yale School of Medicine focused on pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), which accounts for 90% of pancreatic cancers.

Because it is often detected only at advanced stages, pancreatic cancer is one of the most lethal tumor types. As the Yale team noted, only 15 to 20% of pancreatic cancers are caught when tumors are still operable.

For those patients, chemotherapy has traditionally been given …