Clinical assessment of palliative radiotherapy for pancreatic cancer

Abstract

Purpose: To evaluate the feasibility and response to radiotherapy for improving the symptoms and quality of life in patients with pancreatic cancer.

Patients and methods: We enrolled 31 eligible patients (20 men, 11 women) with pancreatic cancer who were receiving radiotherapy from February 2012 to February 2014. The prescribed dose was 40 to 42Gy delivered to the planning target volume in seven to ten fractions of 4 to 6Gy. Patients completed Brief Pain Inventory (BPI), Functional Assessment Of Cancer Therapy-Hepatobiliary (FACT-Hep), and European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality Of Life Questionnaire C30 (EORTC QLQ-C30) one week prior to radiotherapy, and one and three months after treatment. The main outcome was the evaluation of the proportion of patients with less pain and reduced clinical symptoms after one month of radiotherapy compared to before treatment according to the BPI, FACT-Hep and EORTC QLQ-C30 scales.

Results: Of 31 patients, 28 completed the questionnaires. According to BPI evaluation, symptoms were improved in 57% of patients; the FACT-General (FACT-G) and liver function subscales revealed that there was symptom improvement in 89% and 7.1% of patients, respectively. Six items in the EORTC QLQ-C30 were improved.

Conclusions: Following treatment, pain and clinical symptoms were improved in a considerable proportion of patients with pancreatic cancer, proving that palliative radiotherapy is feasible for pancreatic cancer.

Keywords: Cancer du pancréas; Pancreatic cancer; Quality of life (QoL); Qualité de vie; Radiotherapy; Radiothérapie; Toxicity assessment; Évaluation de la toxicité.