Download Pancreatic Cancer Surgery Findings Presented at Society of

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March 13, 2014, 9 pm ET
News Release
Alicia Reale
Department of Marketing and
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11100 Euclid Avenue
Cleveland, OH 44106
216 844 3825
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Pancreatic Cancer Surgery Findings Presented at
Society of Surgical Oncology Cancer Symposium
CLEVELAND – Despite the benefits of surgery for early stage pancreatic cancer, it remains underutilized for patients with this deadly disease, according to a new national analysis of trends and
outcomes. Physician-scientists at University Hospitals (UH) Case Medical Center and Case Western
Reserve University School of Medicine presented their findings and strategies to increase rates on
March 13 at the Society of Surgical Oncology Cancer Symposium in Phoenix.
In an abstract titled “Factors Associated with Failure to Operate for Localized Pancreatic
Adenocarcinoma,” the research team used the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER)
database to identify factors associated with not receiving surgery in patients with localized pancreatic
cancer. A secondary aim was to evaluate the effect of receiving surgery on disease-specific survival.
“Surgery is potentially curative for patients with early stage pancreatic cancer however utilization has
not increased over the past 22 years,” said Julian Kim, MD, senior author of the study and Chief of
Surgical Oncology at UH Case Medical Center Seidman Cancer Center. “Pancreatic cancer is a
deadly disease with long-term survival less than 5% and better treatments are needed to improve
survival. While not all patients with localized disease are candidates for curative resection, there is an
opportunity for educating patients and physicians about the potential benefits of surgery.”
The study population included patients diagnosed with SEER historic stage A localized pancreatic
adenocarcinoma between 1988-2010 from across the United States. Of 6,742 patients, 1,715 patients
(25.4%) received surgical treatment. There was no significant change in the utilization of surgery
over time. Researchers found that patients were less likely to undergo surgery if they were older than
50 years, black, unmarried or located in regions outside the East, among other factors. Patients who
did not undergo surgery had significantly worse disease-specific survival than patients who
underwent surgery (6 vs. 27 months).
Cancer of the pancreas is the fourth leading cause of cancer death in the United States, killing more
than 35,000 Americans each year. Pancreatic cancer is characteristically aggressive with non-specific
initial symptoms, making it difficult to diagnose early. Conventional therapies have little impact on
prognosis and disease outcome. Surgical resection of the tumor is currently the only chance for a
cure. Without resection, overall median survival is four to six months with an estimated five-year
survival rate of 0.4 percent to 5 percent.
“This study demonstrates the value of using the SEER database to analyze factors associated with
surgery as a treatment for localized pancreatic cancer in a large number of patients over a prolonged
period of time,” says Dr. Kim, who is also Chief Medical Officer of UH Seidman Cancer Center and
the Charles Hubay Professor at Case Western Reserve School of Medicine. “Our findings
underscored the underutilization of this treatment modality in patients with this disease and identify
an opportunity to better educate patients and physicians about improvements in surgical outcomes.”
First author of the abstract is Madeleine Strohl and co-authors are Siavash Raigani, Jeffrey Hardacre,
MD, and John Ammori, MD.
The full abstract is available at:
http://ssocal.djgcreate.com/?search=M.+Strohl&mod=&cat1=&presenter=&date=
About University Hospitals
University Hospitals, the second largest employer in Northeast Ohio, serves the needs of patients through an integrated
network of hospitals, outpatient centers and primary care physicians in 16 counties. At the core of our health system is
University Hospitals Case Medical Center, one of only 18 hospitals in the country to have been named to U.S. News &
World Report’s most exclusive rankings list: the Best Hospitals 2013-14 Honor Roll. The primary affiliate of Case
Western Reserve University School of Medicine, UH Case Medical Center is home to some of the most prestigious
clinical and research centers of excellence in the nation and the world, including cancer, pediatrics, women's health,
orthopaedics and spine, radiology and radiation oncology, neurosurgery and neuroscience, cardiology and cardiovascular
surgery, organ transplantation and human genetics. Its main campus includes the internationally celebrated UH Rainbow
Babies & Children's Hospital, ranked among the top children’s hospitals in the nation; UH MacDonald Women's
Hospital, Ohio's only hospital for women; and UH Seidman Cancer Center, part of the NCI-designated Case
Comprehensive Cancer Center at Case Western Reserve University. UH Case Medical Center is the 2012 recipient of the
American Hospital Association – McKesson Quest for Quality Prize for its leadership and innovation in quality
improvement and safety. For more information, go to www.uhhospitals.org