The 7th Joint Session between JDDW-KDDW-TDDW3(JDDW)
Thu. November 2nd   9:00 - 12:00   Room 10: Portopia Hotel Waraku
JKT3-RS3
 Radiofrequency ablation: A novel endoscopic focal treatment of pancreatic cancer
Meng-Ying Lin1, Yao-Sheng Wang1, Wei-Lun Chang1
1Department of Internal Medicine, National Cheng Kung University
Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is a leading cause of cancer death worldwide. Surgery is the only possible complete treatment for these patients. However, there is no effective screening tool, and patients often present with nonspecific symptoms, resulting in early diagnosis of resectable disease in only 10-15% of cases. The lack of new systemic treatment agents and an immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment have resulted in a persistently low 5-year survival rate of around 10% for pancreatic adenocarcinoma, which is far behind other malignant diseases. In the near future, pancreatic cancer is expected to become the leading cause of cancer-related mortality.
Several attempts, such as neoadjuvant chemotherapy and radiation therapy, have been applied in the treatment of pancreatic adenocarcinoma for decades. However, these approaches have only resulted in a dismal improvement in survival.
Radiofrequency ablation (RFA) is a thermal ablation technique that has been used for a long time in the treatment of liver and thyroid tumors. It employs an alternating RF current to generate heat and induce coagulation inside the tumor. RFA has been reported to induce an antigen-presenting effect and amplify weak tumor-related immunity which is crucial in cancer treatment. In addition, the technical success rate and procedure-related complication rate are acceptable, with complications usually being manageable non-surgically according to literature reviews. Although the overall survival benefit of combining RFA with PDAC treatment remains controversial, several existing studies have revealed better outcomes when RFA is combined with neoadjuvant chemotherapy.
In this retrospective single-center experience review, RFA was found to enhance treatment response in some patients, while others did not benefit. Further investigation into the potential benefits of RFA for patients is essential.
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