Introduction: Pancreatic cancer is the fourth most common cause of cancer death in higher-income countries, with 5-year survival only 10% even in people presenting with early-stage cancer. Risk factors include smoking, high alcohol intake, and dietary factors, while diabetes mellitus and previous pancreatitis may also increase the risk.
Methods and outcomes: We conducted a systematic review and aimed to answer the following clinical questions: What are the effects of surgical treatments in people with pancreatic cancer considered suitable for complete tumour resection? What are the effects of interventions to prevent pancreatic leak after pancreaticoduodenectomy in people with pancreatic cancer considered suitable for complete tumour resection? What are the effects of adjuvant treatments in people with completely resected pancreatic cancer? What are the effects of interventions in people with non-resectable (locally advanced or advanced) pancreatic cancer? We searched: Medline, Embase, The Cochrane Library, and other important databases up to August 2009 (Clinical Evidence reviews are updated periodically; please check our website for the most up-to-date version of this review). We included harms alerts from relevant organisations such as the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the UK Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).
Results: We found 46 systematic reviews, RCTs, or observational studies that met our inclusion criteria. We performed a GRADE evaluation of the quality of evidence for interventions.
Conclusions: In this systematic review we present information relating to the effectiveness and safety of the following interventions: chemoradiotherapy; chemoradiotherapy for non-resectable pancreatic cancer; chemoradiotherapy for resected pancreatic cancer; fibrin glue; fluorouracil-based chemotherapy (adjuvant) for resected pancreatic cancer (with or without surgery); fluorouracil-based chemotherapy for non-resectable pancreatic cancer; fluorouracil-based chemotherapy (systemic); fluorouracil-based combination chemotherapy; fluorouracil-based monotherapy for non-resectable pancreatic cancer; gemcitabine-based chemotherapy (adjuvant) for resected pancreatic cancer; gemcitabine-based chemotherapy (systemic); gemcitabine-based combination chemotherapy; gemcitabine-based monotherapy for non-resectable pancreatic cancer; lymphadenectomy (extended [radical], or standard) in people having pancreaticoduodenectomy; pancreatic duct occlusion; pancreaticoduodenectomy (pylorus-preserving); pancreaticoduodenectomy (Whipple's procedure); pancreaticogastrostomy reconstruction; pancreaticojejunostomy; and somatostatin and somatostatin analogues.