Treatment of Locally Advanced Pancreatic Cancer

Treatment of pancreatic cancer that is locally advanced may include:

• chemotherapy with or without targeted therapy
• chemotherapy and chemoradiation
• surgery (Whipple procedure, total pancreatectomy, or distal pancreatectomy)
• palliative surgery or stent placement to bypass blocked areas in ducts or the small intestine, and possibly chemotherapy and chemoradiation to shrink the tumor to allow for surgery
• a clinical trial of new anticancer therapies together with chemotherapy or chemoradiation
• a clinical trial of radiation therapy given during surgery or internal radiation therapy

Palliative therapy can be started at any stage of disease. See the Palliative Therapy section for information about treatments that may improve quality of life or relieve symptoms in patients with pancreatic cancer.

Learn more about these treatments in the Treatment Option Overview.

Use our clinical trial search to find NCI-supported cancer clinical trials that are accepting patients. You can search for trials based on the type of cancer, the age of the patient, and where the trials are being done. General information about clinical trials is also available.