Analysis of the efficacy, safety and survival factors of stereotactic body radiation therapy in patients with recurrence of pancreatic cancer

Stereotactic body radiotherapy for pancreatic cancer - A systematic review of prospective data

Purpose

This systematic review aims to comprehensively summarize the current prospective evidence regarding Stereotactic Body Radiotherapy (SBRT) in various clinical contexts for pancreatic cancer including its use as neoadjuvant therapy for borderline resectable pancreatic cancer (BRPC), induction therapy for locally advanced pancreatic cancer (LAPC), salvage therapy for isolated local recurrence (ILR), adjuvant therapy after radical resection, and as a palliative treatment. Special attention is given to the application of magnetic resonance-guided radiotherapy (MRgRT).

Methods

Following PRISMA guidelines, a systematic review of the Medline database via PubMed was conducted focusing on prospective studies published within the past decade. Data were extracted concerning study characteristics, outcome measures, toxicity profiles, SBRT dosage and fractionation regimens, as well as additional systemic therapies.

Results and conclusion

31 studies with in total 1,571 patients were included in this review encompassing 14 studies for LAPC, 9 for neoadjuvant treatment, 2 for adjuvant treatment, 2 for ILR, with an additional 4 studies evaluating MRgRT. In LAPC, SBRT demonstrates encouraging results, characterized by favorable local control rates. Several studies even report conversion to resectable disease with substantial resection rates reaching 39%. The adoption of MRgRT may provide a solution to the challenge to deliver ablative doses while minimizing severe toxicities. In BRPC, select prospective studies combining preoperative ablative-dose SBRT with modern induction systemic therapies have achieved remarkable resection rates of up to 80%. MRgRT also holds potential in this context. Adjuvant SBRT does not appear to confer relevant advantages over chemotherapy. While prospective data for SBRT in ILR and for palliative pain relief are limited, they corroborate positive findings from retrospective studies.

Prognostic value of systemic immune-inflammation index in patients with pancreatic cancer: a meta-analysis

The systemic immune-inflammation index (SII) is a significant prognostic factor in some cancer types. However, the prognostic value of SII in patients with pancreatic cancer (PC) remains controversial. This study aimed to evaluate the prognostic impact of SII in patients with PC through a meta-analysis. This meta-analysis is aimed to investigate the prognostic significance of SII in patients with PC. Relevant articles were obtained through a systematic search. Hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were used to estimate the association between SII and survival outcomes, including overall survival (OS), cancer-specific survival (CSS), disease-free survival (DFS), and progression-free survival (PFS). Seven studies with 2132 patients were included in the meta-analysis. The results revealed that elevated pretreatment SII was associated with poor OS (HR = 1.55, 95% CI: 1.34-1.78, p < 0.001) and inferior CSS/DFS/PFS (HR = 1.51, 95% CI: 1.27-1.80, p < 0.001). The prognostic role was reliable in a subgroup analysis conducted according to regions, disease status, survival analysis, and cutoff value. High SII was associated with poor OS in patients with PC. Therefore, SII is suggested to be a cost-effective biological marker for monitoring survival in patients with PC.

Prognostic and clinicopathological significance of systemic immune-inflammation index in pancreatic cancer: a meta-analysis of 2,365 patients

The prognostic value of the systemic immune-inflammation index (SII) in patients with pancreatic cancer is conflicting according to previous investigations. Therefore, we performed a meta-analysis to explore the association between SII and pancreatic cancer prognosis. Electronic databases were searched for studies exploring the association of SII with prognostic outcomes in pancreatic cancer. The endpoints were overall survival (OS), disease-free survival (DFS), recurrence-free survival (RFS), progression-free survival (PFS), cancer-specific survival (CSS), and clinicopathological parameters. The prognostic value of SII was estimated by hazard ratio (HR) or odds ratio (OR) with a 95% confidence interval (CI). Nine studies containing 11 cohorts with 2,365 subjects in total were included in this meta-analysis. Elevated SII was associated with poor OS (HR=1.50, 95% CI=1.15-1.96, p=0.002), RFS/PFS/DFS (HR=1.52, 95% CI=1.01-2.28, p=0.045), and CSS (HR=2.60, 95% CI=1.65-4.09, p < 0.001) in patients with pancreatic cancer. Additionally, there was no significant association between SII and other parameters in pancreatic cancer such as sex, tumor location, lymph node metastasis, tumor-node-metastasis stage, vascular invasion, and grade. This meta-analysis suggested that elevated SII was a significant prognostic marker for short-term and long-term survival outcomes in patients with pancreatic cancer.

Management problems in patients with pancreatic cancer from a surgeon's perspective

Pancreatic cancer is one of the most lethal gastrointestinal tumor entities. Surgery is the only chance for cure; however, only a minority of patients can be offered this option. Due to the anatomic location of the gland, tumor-related problems and complications affecting the surrounding structures are common, leading to biliary and gastric outlet obstruction as well as portal vein thrombosis. This review article summarizes the management of pancreatic cancer-related problems from a surgical point of view. We further describe surgical treatment options in unresectable, metastasized and recurring pancreatic cancer, highlighting potential resection of oligometastatic disease in selected settings.