Response to preoperative therapy may predict survival in pancreatic cancer patients
Monday, May 31, 2010 - 04:40
in Health & Medicine
Cancer of the pancreas--a glandular organ that lies behind the stomach and secretes vital enzymes and hormones--seldom is detected in early stages, making treatment difficult and survival statistics particularly grim. However, new research from Fox Chase Cancer Center finds that patients with pancreatic adenocarcinoma whose tumors respond most to preoperative chemotherapy and radiation survive four times as long, on average, as those whose tumors respond least.