The main types of pancreatic cancer treatment are surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy. Depending on what stage the cancer is in, its location in the pancreas, and the patient's age, some or even all of these procedures may be used.
If the tumor is located in the head of the pancreas, a surgical procedure called pancreatoduodenectomy may be performed. Also known as the Whipple procedure, it involves the removal of the pancreatic head, a part of the small intestine and bile duct, and the gallbladder. A tumor growing in the body or tail of the pancreas, on the other hand, would involve a surgical operation called distal pancreatectomy. In this procedure, the pancreas' tail, a small part of the pancreatic body, and sometimes the spleen, are removed. Radiation therapy may be performed before and after an operation, and may also be combined with chemotherapy.
Cancer of the pancreas is notoriously difficult to diagnose and treat early because symptoms don't usually appear until the cancer is already in its advanced stages. To address this, new developments and clinical trials in pancreatic cancer treatment are being held to find ways to catch and treat the disease in its earlier phases. For instance, scientists at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center in Maryland have developed a experimental pancreatic cancer vaccine.¹ The vaccine, being tested in clinical trials, uses genetically altered pancreatic cancer cells that secrete a molecule to attract immune system cells to where the tumor vaccine is. The immune cells bind with antigens, a kind of protein, to destroy pancreatic cancer cells.
Another characteristic of pancreatic cancer is the low survival rate of patients. The New England Journal of Medicine published the details of two clinical trials involving targeted therapies using the drugs sunitinib and everolimus.² The studies found that study participants diagnosed with neuroendocrine pancreatic cancer were able to achieve a longer survival rate and that the disease did not progress further upon treatment with the drugs.
Cancer of the pancreas is one of the deadliest forms of cancer. But with continuing research and new drug development in the field of pancreatic cancer treatment, it is hoped that one day there may be a definitive cure for this disease.
Sources:
- Johns Hopkins Medicine : Pancreatic Cancer Vaccine
- The New England Journal of Medicine: Research & Review Articles on Disease & Clinical Practice: Promising Advances in the Treatment of Malignant Pancreatic Endocrine Tumors
General info:
0 comments:
Post a Comment