Pancreatic cancer
Pancreatic cancers are often inoperable at the time of diagnosis.
When the tumor is not resectable, IORT technique can be an effective palliative strategy to alleviate the pain. When surgery is feasible, in half of all cases the tumor cannot be removed in its entirety.In this situation the IORT technique plays a fundamental role. Today IORT is able to significantly reduce local recurrencies and improve the survival rate. A multidisciplinary approach is required to develop a standardized protocol for the total procedure. A pathological anatomy expert which performs a careful analysis of the removed surgical specimen should work in collaboration with professionals of radiobiology, in order to target the precise tumor site. A preoperative radiotherapy treatment increases the effects of IORT in local control and overall survival rate. At 5 years from the intervention, the local control of 23.3% of cases confirms the beneficial 'sterilization' brought by the IORT treatment on the tumor bed.