Intraoperative radiotherapy for advanced carcinoma of the pancreas

A detailed retrospective analysis of the efficacy of intraoperative radiotherapy (IOR) in advanced carcinoma of the pancreas is presented. During a 10-year period from 1973 through 1982, 70 patients with advanced carcinoma of the pancreas were treated by multimodal methods, separate or combined therapy of surgery, IOR, and chemotherapy in two different institutions. Among these, 33 patients underwent IOR, mostly combined with additive surgery. A single dose of 20.1 to 40.0 Gy with 8 to 25 meV electrons was delivered through radiation cones ranging from 6 to 10 cm in diameter. Excellent relief was noticed in 50% of the patients who had complained of pain. Among Stage IV patients, a significant difference of survival rate was observed between IOR and control groups (P less than 0.05); the mean survival time of the IOR group was 4.6 +/- 2.6 (SD) and that of the control group 2.5 +/- 1.4 (SD) months. Intraoperative radiotherapy proved to be effective in prolonging the survival of patients with advanced stage of the lesion.