Neoadjuvant Tx Tops Surgery for Pancreatic Cancer
Neoadjuvant chemotherapy followed by surgery led to significantly better survival in newly diagnosed, early-stage pancreatic cancer compared with upfront surgery with or without adjuvant chemotherapy, an analysis of similar patients showed.
Patients had a median overall survival of 26 months with neoadjuvant chemotherapy versus 21 months with upfront surgical resection. The survival advantage for neoadjuvant therapy persisted in a subgroup analysis of patients who received surgery plus adjuvant chemotherapy.
Patients who had upfront surgery had higher-stage tumors, a higher rate of positive lymph nodes, and a higher rate of positive surgical margins, Patricio M. Polanco, MD, of the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, and co-authors reported online in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. Read more . . .