Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg

Stereotactic Ablative Radiotherapy Shows Promise in Pancreatic Cancer Treatment, While Phase 3 Trial Questions Chemoradiation Benefits

- Stereotactic ablative radiotherapy (SAbR) combined with neoadjuvant chemotherapy improved pathologic outcomes and locoregional recurrence-free survival in pancreatic cancer patients, particularly those with arterial involvement. - The phase 3 CONKO-007 trial found that chemoradiotherapy after induction chemotherapy did not improve overall survival compared to chemotherapy alone in unresectable pancreatic cancer patients. - Among surgically treated patients, chemoradiotherapy significantly improved R0 resection rates and pathologic complete response rates compared to chemotherapy alone. - Secondary surgery was associated with superior survival outcomes, with median survival reaching 33 months in patients achieving circumferential resection margin-negative status.