Radical treatment of stage IV pancreatic cancer by the combination of cryosurgery and iodine-125 seed implantation

AIM: To investigate the therapeutic effect of radical treatment and palliative treatment in stage IV pancreatic cancer patients. METHODS: 81 patients were enrolled in the study. Radical treatment was performed on 51 patients, while 30 patients were put under palliative treatment. The procedural safety and interval survival for stage IV pancreatic cancer (IS-IV) was assessed by almost 2.5 years of follow-ups. The IS-IV of patients under the two kinds of treatment, and the effects of treatment timing and frequency on IS-IV, were compared. RESULTS: The IS-IV of patients who received radical treatment was significantly longer than those who received palliative treatment (P < 0.001). The IS-IV of patients who received delayed radical or palliative treatment was longer than those who received accordingly timely treatment (P = 0.0034 and 0.0415, respectively). Multiple treatments can play an important role in improving the IS-IV of patients who received radical treatment (P = 0.0389), but not for those who received palliative treatment (P = 0.99). CONCLUSION: The effect of radical treatment was significantly more obvious than that of palliative treatment, and multiple radical treatments may contribute more to patients than a single radical treatment.