What are the treatment options for pancreatic cancer?

  1.Surgical treatment is the only possible method of cure. It is the main method of choice. However, because of the difficulty of early diagnosis of pancreatic cancer, the surgical resection rate is low and the five-year survival rate after surgery is also low.  For pancreatic cancer with obstructive jaundice and cannot be resected, gallbladder or bile duct jejunostomy can be chosen to reduce jaundice and improve the survival quality of patients. Stents can also be placed endoscopically to relieve the obstruction.  2.Palliative treatment is often needed to relieve obstructive jaundice for cases not suitable for radical surgery, generally using gallbladder-jejunostomy, or external fistula (cholecystostomy or bile duct external drainage) to reduce jaundice for those who do not have the condition, most patients can alleviate symptoms and improve their general condition in a short period of time, and the general survival time is about six months.  Although surgery is still the primary treatment method, pancreatic cancer is often found late and the chance of cure is lost, so comprehensive treatment is needed. Nowadays, the comprehensive treatment is still mainly surgical treatment, supplemented by radiotherapy and chemotherapy, as well as new biological treatments such as immunotherapy and molecular therapy that have emerged in recent years.  (1) Radiation therapy for pancreatic cancer is a tumor with low sensitivity to radiotherapy.  (2) Chemotherapy for pancreatic cancer that cannot be removed surgically. Chemotherapy for pancreatic cancer is expected to reduce the incidence of recurrence and metastasis of cancer after surgery.  (3) Biological therapy. With the rapid development of immunological and molecular biology research, this will be the most challenging research because refractory tumors like pancreatic cancer must exhibit some completely new approaches to treatment: gene therapy and immunotherapy: the application of immune agents to enhance the immune function of the body is part of a comprehensive treatment.  (4) Other therapies pancreatic cancer is a hypoxic tumor with low sensitivity to radiotherapy, but with increased sensitivity to heat. In recent years, technical improvements have led to the application of warm therapy. The commonly used temperature is 44°C. However, the heating and temperature measurement methods need to be improved.  4.Symptomatic supportive treatment for advanced pancreatic cancer, those with steatorrhea due to pancreatic exocrine insufficiency, can take pancreatic enzyme preparation during meals to help digestion. For intractable abdominal pain, analgesics, including opioid analgesics, should be given; if necessary, 50%-75% ethanol should be used for abdominal plexus injection or sympathectomy. Radiotherapy may provide pain relief in some patients. Nutritional support should also be enhanced to improve nutritional status.