Neoadjuvant Therapy May Increase Resectability of Pancreatic Cancer

There is a consistent finding that neoadjuvant therapy can induce resectability in up to 30%–40% of locally advanced pancreatic cancer (LAPC) patients.

It may be anecdotal evidence but the one friend of mine who has survived pancreatic cancer more than the average 18-month survival statistic did what is discussed in the two articles linked and excerpted below. Connie’s PC was “unresectable.” Meaning that Connie was not eligible for the one potentially curative therapy for PC, the Whipple Procedure.

So she decided to have both chemotherapy and radiation. Connie underwent both of these therapies in hopes of shrinking her tumor enough to then be able to surgically remove it. Long story short, “neoadjuvant therapy” shrunk Connie’s PC enough to surgically remove it. Connie was originally diagnosed in early ’13. As of the writing of this blog post, Connie is a 4 plus year survivor of PC.

At this point in this post, I have to put a plug in for non-toxic neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Please read the blog posts linked below in order to learn more about integrative and or complementary therapies such as curcumin, and omega 3 fatty acids.

Please take a moment to watch the short video below in order to learn more about some of these therapies:

Have you been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer? What stage? What therapies are you considering? Please scroll down the page, post a question or comment and I will reply to you ASAP.

Thank you,

David Emerson

Cancer Survivor
Cancer Coach
Director PeopleBeatingCancer

Neoadjuvant Therapy Followed by Resection Versus Upfront Resection for Resectable Pancreatic Cancer: A Propensity Score-Matched Analysis

“Purpose– To compare overall survival between patients who received neoadjuvant therapy (NAT) followed by resection and those who received upfront resection (UR)—as well as a subgroup of UR patients who also received adjuvant therapy—for early-stage resectable pancreatic adenocarcinoma…

Conclusion- NAT followed by resection has a significant survival benefit compared with UR in early-stage, resected pancreatic head adenocarcinoma. These findings support the use of NAT, particularly as a patient selection tool, in the management of resectable pancreatic adenocarcinoma…”

Neoadjuvant treatment of borderline resectable and non-resectable pancreatic cancer

“Neoadjuvant therapy is increasingly becoming a valid treatment option for patients with locally advanced pancreatic cancer (LAPC). In borderline resectable disease, neoadjuvant therapy is employed to improve the probability of margin-clear resections. In non-metastatic, non-resectable pancreatic cancer, treatment primarily aims to induce disease control but may achieve conversion to surgical resectability in some patients. Several treatment modalities including chemotherapy, chemoradiotherapy (CRT) or the sequential use of both have been investigated in numerous, mostly small and non-randomized studies…

Nevertheless, there is a consistent finding that neoadjuvant therapy can induce resectability in up to 30%–40% of LAPC patients.

Once resection has been achieved, overall survival appears to be comparable to that observed for primarily resectable patients…”