Radiation particles are injected into the pancreatic tumor during an endoscopic ultrasound
A new targeted treatment is giving pancreatic cancer patients longer life expectancy.
Epworth HealthCare is the first private hospital group in Australia to offer radiotherapy, which helps shrink locally advanced tumours.
It is better tolerated by the body than other treatments, and also makes surgery an option for patients who were considered inoperable due to the size of their tumor.
More than 4,000 Australians are diagnosed with pancreatic cancer each year, and by this stage 80 per cent of them are too advanced with the disease to have surgery.
“Until now, these patients would have undergone systemic chemotherapy if they were fit, with the potential for many side effects,” said Associate Professor Andrew Metz, director of the Jreissati Family Pancreatic Center at Epworth.
“Preliminary data show potential for tumor shrinkage, increasing survival and allowing some patients who have been inoperable to undergo surgery. Because the radiation only reaches the tumor, it is better tolerated.”
Surgery is not an option for about a third of patients diagnosed with locally advanced tumors around blood vessels near the pancreas.
Professor Metz said the treatment involved injecting P32 radiation particles into the tumor during an endoscopic ultrasound.
“For the next three months, the radiation particles deliver a very high dose of radiation that is targeted only to the tumor,” he said.
“Delivering the radiation only to the tumor limits the effect to the structures surrounding the pancreas, avoiding many side effects.”
The treatment is being provided through the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) Special Access scheme, with the Epworth Medical Foundation funding care for 10 patients at a cost of $100,000.
Pancreatic cancer affects men slightly more than women, and is usually diagnosed in people in their 60s or 70s.
However, central Melbourne researchers are looking at a new group of patients: younger women in their 30s and 40s.
The first Epworth patient to be treated was a 42-year-old woman, who initially went to her GP because of stomach pain and bloating after eating only small amounts of food.
“I felt something was wrong,” he said.
“I had several scans and blood tests but they all came back normal. My GP suggested I take probiotics or change my diet and come back in a few weeks if it didn’t improve.
“I underwent further scans and an MRI, which showed the lump in my pancreas.”
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