MedPage Today: Preop chemotherapy misses mark in pancreatic cancer

Catching pancreatic cancer in earlier stages improves one's chance for survival, but University of Cincinnati researchers wanted to know if administering chemo before surgery in some patients, in addition to after, would make a difference.

Traditionally, pancreatic cancer is treated with surgery first and chemotherapy second. But Davendra Sohal, MD, associate professor of medical oncology at UC and medical oncologist with UC Health, was looking for ways to improve outcomes. So in a clinical trial, he and others enrolled 102 early-stage patients and administered chemotherapy before surgery and after.

"Unfortunately, it did not lead to a cure in more patients than the usual approach, but it has taught us important lessons about how to do it and how to make improvements upon it in future trials," says Sohal, who is also a member of the UC Cancer Center.

Read more about the study, published in JAMA Oncology, in this MedPage Today article (free subscription may be required) and this WVXU, 91.7-FM story.