Introduction: So far, surgery represents the only prospect for cure in patients with pancreatic cancer. Most patients, however, present with locally advanced pancreatic cancer at primary diagnosis. Recently, novel therapeutic regimens with preoperative radiochemotherapy have been developed that may improve long-term survival and resectability rates of patients with locally advanced pancreatic cancer.
Methods: This feasibility study evaluates the preliminary results of neoadjuvant therapy with gemcitabine and 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) or cisplatin. Twenty-six patients suffering from locally advanced pancreatic cancer were considered for preoperative radiochemotherapy. They received radiation (45 Gy) and chemotherapy with simultaneous or sequential gemcitabine and 5-FU (n = 15) or gemcitabine and cisplatin (n = 11) administration prior to surgical resection.
Results: Mean patient age was 62.4 +/- 2.6 years and 62% (n = 16) were male. The response rate was 69%, and 11 patients underwent curative surgical resection of the pancreatic cancer. Nine Whipple procedures and two complete pancreatectomies were carried out. In five patients a total of eight surgical complications were observed. Median overall survival was 9.8 months after primary cancer diagnosis (mean 12.0 +/- 1.2). During follow-up no local recurrent disease was detected.
Conclusions: Our findings lead us to conclude that preoperative chemoradiation with 45 Gy, gemcitabine and 5-FU or cisplatin is a powerful therapeutic tool in patients with locally advanced non-resectable pancreatic cancer. Major resections, including vascular reconstructions, are nonetheless associated with increased mortality. Preoperative chemoradiation contributes to improved survival in patients with primary non-resectable pancreatic cancer.