What is the surgical treatment of pancreatic cancer?
Surgery for adenocarcinoma of the pancreas is only offered to patients whose tumor is localized and meets other criteria (please note earlier FAQ answers). Only about 15-20% of those individuals with pancreatic cancer will be found to be eligible for surgery. In these cases, surgical resection (removal) of the tumor from the pancreas (and resection of select surrounding tissues) gives the best chance for a cure and generally confers a better overall prognosis in contrast to medical therapy. This is one reason why so much effort is given in pre-operative testing to try to identify those patients who may be good candidates for surgery. Another reason for such care is to avoid the offering of unnecessary surgery to patients who are already ill. At surgery, the first job of the surgeon is to assess the nature and extent of the cancer–to verify if the patient is a true candidate for resection. If the cancer has advanced further than the pre-operative testing has indicated (which is not unc
Surgery for adenocarcinoma of the pancreas is only offered to patients whose tumor is localized and meets other criteria (please note earlier FAQ answers). Only about 15-20% of those individuals with pancreatic cancer will be found to be eligible for surgery. In these cases, surgical resection (removal) of the tumor from the pancreas (and resection of select surrounding tissues) gives the best chance for a cure and generally confers a better overall prognosis in contrast to medical therapy. This is one reason why so much effort is given in pre-operative testing to try to identify those patients who may be good candidates for surgery. Another reason for such care is to avoid the offering of unnecessary surgery to patients who are already ill. At surgery, the first job of the surgeon is to assess the nature and extent of the cancer–to verify if the patient is a true candidate for resection. If the cancer has advanced further than the pre-operative testing has indicated (which is not unc
