Higher Dose Radiation Can Increase Pancreatic Cancer Survival: Study

A positive diagnosis of pancreatic cancer tends to present with a prognosis that is rather bleak. With a five-year survival rate that is less than 10 percent, this form of cancer is considered one of the deadliest. Challenges related to diagnosing this condition in its earliest, most treatable phases, and difficulty in providing effective treatments combine to make average post-diagnosis life expectancy a mere matter of months. New research, however, is casting light on a way that may help extend life in some patients. The use of higher doses of radiation during radiotherapy has been shown to more than double survival in some patients.

The study in question involved the use of higher doses of chemoradiation during treatments. Researchers found that patients who received the lowest recommended dose of