Impact of different treatment methods on survival in advanced pancreatic cancer

Summary. The aim of the study was to evaluate the impact of different treatment methods on survival of patients treated for advanced pancreatic cancer at Kaunas University of Medicine Hospital from 1987 to 2003. Materials and methods. Data on 262 patients with advanced pancreatic cancer treated from 1987 to 2003 were analyzed retrospectively. Four groups of patients were analyzed. One hun-dred eighty patients underwent palliative bypass or endoscopic bile duct stenting or observation alone. Forty three patients in addition to surgery were treated by radiotherapy. Twenty five pa-tients received gemcitabine in standard doses and schedules. Fourteen patients received con-comitant chemoradiotherapy (with gemcitabine or 5-fluorouracil). All patients were grouped by treatment method and median survival was analyzed. Results. Median survival of patients treated by palliative surgery only or observation alone was 1.9 month, and for patients treated by palliative surgery and radiotherapy was 6.1 months (p=0.00007). Median survival of patients treated with gemcitabine was 9.5 months (p<0.001), and median survival of patients treated with concomitant chemoradiotherapy was 8.5 months (p=0.00003). Conclusion. Patients diagnosed with advanced pancreatic cancer in addition to surgical treatment should be treated by chemotherapy, concomitant chemoradiotherapy or radiotherapy