Radiation ups pancreatic cancer survival

NEW YORK, Nov. 25 (UPI) -- Administering radiation therapy prior to surgery nearly doubles survival in pancreatic cancer patients with operable tumors, U.S. researchers found.

Senior author Dr. David Sherr of Weill Cornell Medical College and New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center said that because pancreatic tumors have often spread or have directly invaded critical structures by the time they are detected, just 15 percent to 20 percent of patients are deemed suitable candidates for surgical removal of the tumor.

While post-operative radiotherapy has long been used to sterilize residual cancer cells that may not have been removed by surgery, the notion of using radiation before resection -- partial removal of an organ -- has been a controversial one, Sherr said.

"There are potential benefits to delivering radiation before surgery rather than after," Sherr said in a statement. "Radiation might actually increase the number of people eligible for tumor resection, by shrinking the tumor so it no longer endangers vital structures, such as the major blood vessels in close proximity to the pancreas."

The findings are published in the International Journal of Radiation Oncology, Biology and Physics.