Treatments for pancreatic cancer

Your healthcare team will create a treatment plan just for you. The plan is based on your health, specific information about the cancer and the treatments available at your cancer centre or hospital. What you want is also important when planning treatment. When deciding which treatments to offer for pancreatic cancer, your healthcare team will consider:

• whether the cancer can be removed through surgery (is resectable)
• if genetic testing is available where you are
• the stage of the cancer
• possible side effects
• your age
• your overall health
• any medical problems you have
• your lifestyle and what you prefer or want

Surgery is the main treatment for resectable pancreatic cancer. Chemotherapy and radiation therapy, given on their own or during the same time period (chemoradiation), may be used first to try to shrink a borderline resectable tumour so that it can be surgically removed. Chemotherapy, radiation therapy or chemoradiation may also be given after surgery.

When pancreatic cancer cannot be surgically removed (is unresectable), treatment tries to control the growth of the tumour and any symptoms it may cause. A systemic therapy such as chemotherapy, targeted therapy or immunotherapy is usually used as the first treatment. Some people will also have radiation therapy and palliative surgery.

Clinical trials will also be recommended to many people with pancreatic cancer.