Intraoperative radiotherapy in integrated treatment of pancreatic carcinoma

Pancreatic cancer is a highly lethal disease either for the high incidence of distant metastases or for the frequent local recidive also after potenti ally curative resection. For this reason new multimodality approaches have to be investigated, Intraoperative radiotherapy (IORT) permits to administe r a high dose to the tumor or to the retropancreatic tissues and to the reg ional lymphnodes. Literature data suggest it is possible a better local con trol and pheraps a better survival than the surgery alone or the palliative treatments by the use of schedules with IORT, Anyway they are retrospectiv e data and IORT is an investigational method which has to be indagate in th e combined modality approaches to this disease.