Radiotherapy & Oncology
Volume 87, Issue 3 , Pages 318-325, June 2008

Intraoperative radiotherapy in pancreatic cancer: A systematic review

  • Alberto Ruano-Ravina

      Affiliations

    • Galician Agency for Health Technology Assessment, Galician Health Authority, Santiago de Compostela, Spain, Spain
    • Department of Preventive Medicine and Public Health, University of Santiago de Compostela, Spain, Spain
    • CIBER de Epidemiologı´a y Salud Pública, Spain, Spain
    • Corresponding Author InformationCorresponding author. Alberto Ruano-Ravina, Agencia de Evaluación de Tecnologı´as Sanitarias de Galicia, Consellerı´a de Sanidade, Edif Administrativo de San Lázaro, San Lázaro s/n, 15781 Santiago de Compostela, Spain.
    • ,
  • Raquel Almazán Ortega

      Affiliations

    • Research Unit, Ourense Hospital Complex, Ourense, Spain, Spain
    • ,
  • Ferrran Guedea

      Affiliations

    • Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Barcelona, Spain

Received 14 September 2007; received in revised form 3 December 2007; accepted 7 December 2007. published online 16 January 2008.

Abstract 

Background and purpose: Intraoperative radiotherapy (IORT) has been considered for treatment of pancreas cancer since local recurrence rates are very high. This study assesses the efficacy and safety of IORT in pancreatic cancer. Materials and methods: We conducted a systematic review of scientific literature from January 1995 to February 2007, including Medline, Embase, ISI Web of Science and HTA (Health Technology Assessment). By applying a series of inclusion criteria, two independent reviewers selected those studies in which a minimum of 30 patients received IORT and which furnished survival results based on a minimum 3-month follow-up. Results: Fourteen papers were included, one was an IORT assessment report, 5 were cohort studies, and the remaining 8 were case series studies, 2 of which belonged to the same series. In general, these studies showed that IORT could slightly increase survival among patients with pancreatic cancer in localized stages. However, the results were not conclusively in favor of IORT in the case of pancreatic cancer in locally advanced and metastatic stages. There were no published studies that assessed quality of life. Conclusions: There is no clear evidence to indicate that IORT is more effective than other therapies in treating pancreatic cancer in locally advanced and metastatic stages.

Keywords: Systematic review, Intraoperative radiotherapy, Pancreas neoplasm

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PII: S0167-8140(07)00654-8

doi:10.1016/j.radonc.2007.12.002

Radiotherapy & Oncology
Volume 87, Issue 3 , Pages 318-325, June 2008

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