Key Takeaways

• Pancreatic cancer is on the rise across the rich world

• Most treatments involve a mix of surgery and radiation, with long recovery times

• Oncosil targets cancerous cells and reduces the negative impact on surrounding tissues or organs

Pancreatic cancer is on the rise and there are four major ways of treating it to help relieve symptoms, which include surgery, chemotherapy, radiation, and targeted therapy. This article introduces Oncosil, an innovative drug that targets cancerous cells, and a range of other treatments that are currently used to treat pancreatic cancer. 

What is Oncosil? 

Oncosil is an Australian biotech company that offers innovative treatment solutions and therapeutics for individuals facing a range of cancers. However, it targets pancreatic cancer with three treatment centres in the UK and one in Australia. OncoSil Medical Ltd (ASX: $OSL) selectively targets tumours while sparing healthy tissue.  Its targeted radiation device is implanted directly into the pancreatic rumpus. 

Why does it Matter? 

• The main surgical approaches used to treat pancreatic cancer are potentially curative and palliative. Potentially curative surgeries seek to treat pancreatic cancer by removing it from the patient's body while palliative attempts to relieve symptoms such as a blocked bile duct or bowel. When pancreatic cancer only spreads to nearby areas, tumours can be removed through surgery. However, complete removal is the best chance to cure pancreatic cancer as partial removal doesn’t help patients live longer. Surgery is only done if the cancer can be removed entirely. 
• Palliative surgery: When pancreatic cancer spreads to the blood cells, there are two forms of palliative care. These include stent placement where metal tubes (stents) are used to keep the bile duct open, often done during endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ECRP).
• Bypass Operations: The flow of bile tends to be rerouted from the bile duct into the intestine, bypassing the pancreas completely. While this provides longer-lasting relief, they equally have longer recovery periods than stent replacements. 
• Chemotherapy: Chemotherapy drugs kill cancer cells, control their growth, or relieve disease-related symptoms, and before surgery, try to reduce the size of the pancreatic tumour that needs to be removed. 
• However, surgery to reduce the size of a tumour is first done in a process called neoadjuvant therapy. Neoadjuvant therapy represents a seismic shift in pancreatic cancer treatment. This approach, combining chemotherapy and/or radiation therapy before surgery, is designed to shrink pancreatic tumours, thereby increasing the likelihood of complete surgical removal.

Why is Oncosil Different

OncoSil is an active implantable medical device that provides localised radiation therapy for tumours, avoiding the systemic side effects of external radiation treatment. Unlike external beam radiation with several defects, OncoSill enables a high but precise radiation dose of around 1 cm, targeting only the cancer cells without harming the surrounding organs. OncoSil entered the market supported by published efficacy data that most similar treatments lacked. 

Finally, Oncosil is already approved in the European Union, the United Kingdom, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Switzerland, Turkey, and Israel. This illustrates the effectiveness of Oncosil and that its innovative approach to treating pancreatic cancer is gaining traction in several large markets. 

Pancreatic cancer is on the rise across the world and while there are several treatments available, a mix of surgery and radiation does not allow patients to recover effectively and quickly. Oncosil is changing that by targeting cancerous cells while limiting the effects on other tissues. This presents a unique opportunity for Oncosil in the marketplace and illustrates its ability to grab a significant share of the market across Europe, North America, and the Middle East. 

Oncosil’s precise pancreatic cancer treatments will disrupt cancer treatment markets across the world. Not only has its approvals gained traction across 8 jurisdictions, but it is now present in a total of 35 countries across the world and can be used as a complement in most forms of treatment such as neoadjuvant therapy.