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Treatment of Resectable or Borderline Resectable Pancreatic Cancer

For information about the treatments listed below, see the Treatment Option Overview section.

Treatment of resectable or borderline resectable pancreatic cancer may include the following:

  • Chemotherapy with or without radiation therapy followed by surgery.
  • Surgery.
  • Surgery followed by chemotherapy.
  • Surgery followed by chemoradiation.
  • A clinical trial of chemotherapy and/or radiation therapy before surgery.
  • A clinical trial of chemoradiation followed by surgery and then chemotherapy.
  • A clinical trial of different ways of giving radiation therapy.

Surgery to remove the tumor may include Whipple procedure, total pancreatectomy, or distal pancreatectomy.

Palliative therapy can be started at any stage of disease. See the Palliative Therapy section for information about treatments that may improve quality of life or relieve symptoms in patients with pancreatic cancer.

Use our clinical trial search to find NCI-supported cancer clinical trials that are accepting patients. You can search for trials based on the type of cancer, the age of the patient, and where the trials are being done. General information about clinical trials is also available.

This information is not intended to replace the advice of a doctor. Navigating Care disclaims any liability for the decisions you make based on this information. This information was sourced and adapted from Adapted from the National Cancer Institute's Physician Data Query (PDQ®) Cancer Information Summaries on www.cancer.gov.

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