Researchers, led by oncologist and principal investigator J. Marc Pipas, M.D., were able to reduce the size of tumors so significantly that a number of patients who previously had been categorized as borderline or inoperable could have their tumors surgically removed.
Surgery, and the complete removal of the tumor, is the only curative hope for people with pancreatic cancer, the fourth leading cause of cancer death in the U.S., according to the National Cancer Institute. NCI estimates that of the 32,180 new cases of pancreatic cancer in 2005, 31,800 will die.
The overall five-year survival rate for pancreatic cancer is only 4%, but for patients whose tumors can be completely removed, long-term survival jumps to 18-24%. Detecting the tumor in an early stage is crucial, but pancreatic cancer has few symptoms and is often diagnosed only after the cancer has grown into surrounding tissue or metastasized, making surgery impossible.
"The only way to cure these tumors is to remove them completely," explains Pipas. "You try to do something to make sure there is no microscopic disease left. If you can't remove it, the prognosis is poor."
Traditional treatment for pancreatic cancer is surgery followed by chemotherapy and radiation. The treatment Pipas developed reverses the treatment steps. He administers chemotherapy and radiation in combination first, in order to reduce the size of the tumor and increase the possibility of surgery. The reverse treatment regimen results in many tumors
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Contact: Jane D'Antonio
jane.d'antonio@hitchcock.org
603-653-1997
Dartmouth Medical School
6-Dec-2005