How Is Pancreatic Cancer Treated?

Your stage of pancreatic cancer and your overall health will determine the method your physician recommends for treating your illness. The main ways of attacking pancreatic cancer are surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy (drugs).

Your doctor will work with you to choose the best treatment for your pancreatic cancer based on:

• Your age, overall health, and medical history
• Extent of the disease
• Grade and stage of the cancer
• Your tolerance of specific medicines, procedures, or therapies
• Expectations for the course of the disease
• Your opinion or preference

All treatments have benefits and risks. You and your doctor should carefully balance the potential benefits of any cancer treatment with its potential risks.
After the pancreatic cancer is diagnosed and staged, your physician will recommend a treatment plan. Treatment may include:

• Surgery - Surgery for pancreatic cancer may be curative or palliative. Potentially curative surgery is used when imaging studies tell the surgeon that it is possible to remove all the cancer. Palliative surgery may be done if imaging studies show that the tumor is too widespread to be completely removed. Palliative surgery can relieve symptoms and prevent certain complications.
• Radiation therapy - Radiation therapy uses high-energy radiation to kill cancer cells and shrink tumors.
• Chemotherapy - Chemotherapy drugs are used to kill cancerous cells. In most cases, chemotherapy works by stopping cancer cells from growing or reproducing, which kills the cells. Different types of chemotherapy drugs work in different ways to kill cancer cells.
• Targeted therapies - Targeted therapies are designed to treat only the cancer cells and minimize damage to normal, healthy cells. Cancer treatments that “target” cancer cells often have fewer side effects and are more focused than traditional chemotherapy drugs and radiation treatments. This is because chemotherapy and radiation therapy cannot tell the difference between cancer cells and healthy cells, so they often harm healthy cells and this can cause side effects.

This content has been reviewed and approved by Myo Thant, MD.