After the diagnosis has been made, there are several options for treating the cancer. The most common treatments for pancreatic cancer are:
- operation (general).
- operation against complaints (palliative surgery).
- chemotherapy.
- radiation (text in Dutch only).
- radiofrequency ablation for liver metastases (text in Dutch only).
- treatment in a research context (text in Dutch only).
The national guideline for physicians for the treatment of pancreatic cancer can be found here.
Purpose of treatment
When a treatment aims to achieve a cure, it is called a ‘curative treatment’. Part of this can be an additional treatment (in medical terms ‘adjuvant treatment’). For example, chemotherapy after an operation, to combat any undetectable metastases and thus reduce the chance of the disease returning. But it can also be advised to start chemotherapy with or without radiation before an operation (neoadjuvant treatment).
If the disease can no longer be treated curatively, palliative treatment is possible. Such treatment is mainly aimed at slowing down the disease and/or reducing or preventing complaints such as pain.
To gain peace of mind, a second opinion may be an option. A second opinion is the opinion of another doctor. This person will be able to review the test results and then check whether the specialist is proposing the correct diagnosis and treatment options.
Video pancreatic cancer – general
The video ‘pancreatic cancer – general’ is only available in Dutch. That is why we made a video transcript in English.