Adjuvant and neoadjuvant therapies of pancreatic cancer - A review

The survival of patients diagnosed with pancreatic cancer is dismal. Few pa tients on initial presentation are suitable for surgical resection. This ha s prompted clinical studies with chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy designed either to increase the number of patients eligible for surgery (neoadjuvant therapy) or to prolong the survival of patients who had undergone surgery (adjuvant therapy). None of these studies may at this time be considered de finitive. Wherever possible, patients felt eligible for neoadjuvant or adju vant therapy should be entered on clinical trials. Where this is not possib le, clinicians should exercise their best judgment in offering this type of treatment to pancreatic cancer patients under their care.