Efficacy and safety of radiotherapy combined with high intensity focused ultrasound in patients with advanced pancreatic cancer

Objective: To evaluate the safety and efficacy of radiotherapy combined with high intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) therapy in patients with advanced pancreatic cancer.Methods: Sixty-eight patients with advanced pancreatic cancer were randomly divided into two groups: combined treatment group [N = 34, underwent imaging-guided radiotherapy (IGRT) and HIFU therapy] and single treatment group (N = 34, only underwent IGRT). The response, adverse reactions and pain relief were compared between the two groups two months after treatment. The 3- and 6-month survival rates of two groups were calculated.Results: The response rate of combined treatment group was higher than that of single treatment group (64.7% vs 38.2%, P 0.05). The 2-month survival rate of combined treatment group was 100.0%, which was similar to that of the single treatment group (94.1%) (P > 0.05). The 6-month survival rate of combined treatment group was 79.4%, which was significantly higher than that of the single treatment group (52.9%, P < 0.05).Conclusion: Radiotherapy combined with HIFU is an effective and safe approach for treatment in patients with advanced pancreatic cancer, which can inhibit tumor growth, relieve the pain, and improve the survival without obviously adverse reactions. DOI:10.3781/j.issn.1000-7431.2015.33.748