Pancreatic cancer is one of the most common cancers in Western countries. It is considered a severe disease with an unfavorable prognosis because it is detected late and does not respond to many types of treatment. However, this pathology can be controlled for a long time with the help of modern medicine. You can turn to one of the German clinics to receive high quality medical care.
Principles of pancreatic cancer treatment
Surgery is considered the best treatment. Doctors strive to remove the tumor completely, so that if not to cure the disease permanently, then at least to ensure a long remission.
Unfortunately, only 20% of patients are considered candidates for surgery. The problem with pancreatic cancer is that the tumor does not cause symptoms for a long time, so it is detected late. It is usually diagnosed when the tumor has grown significantly and causes jaundice.
However, if the disease is detected in time, and the tumor has not spread beyond the pancreas or into major blood vessels, the cancer is considered resectable. In this case, the doctor will try to cure the cancer.
For other patients, chemotherapy and radiation therapy become the main treatment options. In developed countries, targeted and immunotherapy are also used. In the advanced stages of cancer, palliative treatments are used. These aim to eliminate pain, jaundice and other complications.
Pancreatic cancer surgeries
Whipple’s procedure is the main method of treating pancreatic cancer. The doctor removes the head of the organ, the duodenum, and also removes nearby organs completely or particularly. It is a complex and long operation. It is important to choose a good hospital so that the surgery is successful and without complications.
Other surgeries are performed less frequently. For pancreatic tail cancer, a distal resection is performed, removing the tail of the organ along with the spleen. Very rarely, a total pancreatectomy is performed – removal of the entire pancreas.
Pancreatic cancer surgery in Germany is performed not only by traditional open surgery, but also by minimally invasive laparoscopic surgery. Advanced medical centers use less traumatic surgeries. With sufficient experience of doctors, they provide comparable oncological results, but rehabilitation is faster.
Other treatment methods
Chemotherapy is used in most patients, whether or not they have had surgery. It is used both to control a tumor that cannot be removed and to reduce the risk of the cancer coming back after surgery. For a borderline resectable tumor, chemotherapy may be started before surgery to make the cancer resectable.
Radiation therapy is used with chemotherapy whenever possible. However, if patients cannot tolerate such treatment due to poor health, these methods may be used sequentially.
The problem with radiation therapy is that the pancreas is surrounded by many organs that are inevitably affected by radiation. But in Germany, innovative methods of radiation are used to make the procedure safer. Proton therapy is considered the best option, although its cost is higher compared to other radiation therapy modalities.
Some patients may be good candidates for immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy, EGFR, TRK or PARP inhibitor targeted therapy. Additional testing is needed to determine which drug therapy is right for you.
Germany also offers innovative methods that are still under research. Cancer treatment with dendritic cell vaccines is becoming more common.
If you want to go to Germany for treatment, you can check prices and choose a suitable clinic on the Booking Health website. Leave a request on the site for a consultation with a medical tourism specialist. You will have an appointment at a time that is convenient for you and your trip will be planned.