Regional Therapy of Pancreatic Cancer

Pancreatic cancer is a major cause of cancer death. Despite impressive advances in early hospital mortality and morbidity rates, overall, the chance of long-term survival is extremely low. Surgical treatment is currently the only potentially curative strategy for pancreatic cancer, but surgery alone cannot guarantee a cure. Regional therapy, such as regional chemotherapy or radiation, has been widely used in patients with advanced pancreatic cancer, with some success in controlling the cancer locally. The rationale for regional chemotherapy of pancreatic cancer is to enhance cellular drug uptake. There are various techniques of regional therapy, such as chemoembolization, arterial or portal venous infusion, hyperthermia, radiation, and gene therapy. This article reviews English reports of regional therapy for pancreatic cancer cited in the Medline database of Pubmed up to July 2005.