A University of Louisville pancreatic surgeon sees use of a high voltage surgical procedure as a possible “game changer” when it comes to treating Stage 3 pancreatic cancer,. U of L has enrolled its first patient in a clinical study of irreversible electroporation.
Dr. Robert Martin said median survival for patients with locally advanced pancreatic cancer has been shown to go from 12 months with standard chemotherapy to 30 months with this procedure and chemo. “We’re able to eradicate a cancer, but not damage say the artery or the vein, which a locally advanced cancer can invade, so that the patient can then recover and regain their baseline quality of life and have significant quality of life time after the surgery,” noted Martin.
Martin said the most common environmental factors that lead to an increased risk of pancreatic cancer include smoking, obesity, lack of exercise, a history of pancreatitis, and alcohol abuse. The surgeon added those environmental factors were on the rise in the 1980’s and 1990’s. “We are now seeing those side effects in patients now in in the early parts of the 2000’s because now they’ve had that 20 to 30 years of latency period to then develop this type of disease,” explained Martin.
The mortality rate of pancreatic cancer is high due to the aggressive nature of the disease and the lack of early warning signs. Pancreatic cancer is projected to become the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths by 2030.
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