Radiation therapy improves survival times in people who are candidates for pancreatic cancer surgery, making it, like chemotherapy, an important addition to treatment. Whether radiation benefits patients after pancreatic cancer surgery has been a long-standing question, and findings from a recent study offer definitive evidence that it does, says Christopher (Chris) L. Hallemeier, M.D., radiation oncologist and senior author of the study. In the future, researchers plan to examine whether radiation is even more beneficial before pancreatic cancer surgery.

For more information, see Predictors of Locoregional Failure and Impact on Overall Survival in Patients With Resected Exocrine Pancreatic Cancer, published in March 2016 in the International Journal of Radiation Oncology, Biology, Physics or Mayo study: Radiation an Important Addition to Treatment for Pancreatic Cancer Surgery Candidates, published on the Mayo Clinic News Network.