Percutaneous Irreversible Electroporation as First-line Treatment of Locally Advanced Pancreatic Cancer.

Abstract

Irreversible electroporation (IRE) has recently been used as an experimental ablation treatment following systemic chemotherapy in locally advanced pancreatic cancer (LAPC). The primary aim of this study was to evaluate survival of LAPC patients after IRE prior to chemotherapy. The secondary aim was to examine the complication rates. Twenty-four patients with LAPC were included and treated with percutaneous ultrasound-guided IRE under general anesthesia. Survival data from the National Quality Registry for Pancreatic and Periampullary Cancer for LAPC during the same period were used for comparison. The median survival after diagnosis was 13.3 months in the IRE group compared to 9.9 months in the registry group (p=0.511). Six patients had a severe complication after IRE treatment. No obvious gain in survival was observed with IRE as the first line treatment of LAPC and IRE was associated with severe complications. This study does not support percutaneous IRE in this setting.