Between 2024 and 2036, the pancreatic cancer market is predicted to increase by 18%. By the end of 2036, the market is predicted to produce USD 36 billion in sales, up from around USD 6 billion in 2023. The market is growing as pancreatic cancer becomes increasingly widespread worldwide. The American Cancer Society predicts that by 2024, about 66,440 persons in the United States—34,530 men and 31,910 women—will be diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Pancreatic cancer will claim the lives of 51,750 people, including 27,270 men and 24,480 women. This disease is responsible for around 3% of all malignancies and 7% of all cancer-related deaths in the United States.  What are the forms of treatment available to patients and which companies are considered leaders based on these forms of treatment? 

Pancreatic Cancer Treatment Overview 

Surgery

Your therapy will depend on whether or not the malignancy can be eliminated. If pancreatic cancer is diagnosed early and has not spread, you may be able to have surgery to remove it. If the cancer cannot be eliminated, you may need surgery to relieve some of your symptoms or surgery to eliminate pancreatic cancer. In some circumstances, surgery will remove the entire pancreas. Other organs surrounding the pancreas may need to be removed whole or in part and pancreatic pancreatic cancer surgery can be time-consuming to recover from. The professional team in charge of your care will go over all of the benefits and adverse effects.

Pancreatic cancer symptoms can be managed with surgery; jaundice can be treated by unblocking the bile duct or preventing it from becoming blocked; feeling or being sick can be treated by unblocking the duodenum, the first part of the small intestine, or by bypassing a blockage in the bile duct or small intestine (duodenum). A long, thin, flexible tube is used by the surgeon to access the organ or blockage during many of these procedures, which are performed via endoscopy.

Chemotherapy

Chemotherapy kills cancer cells with medication. For pancreatic cancer, chemotherapy may be used to manage symptoms if surgery is not possible due to extreme illness or if the cancer cannot be removed surgically. Chemoradiotherapy is also sometimes used in conjunction with radiotherapy following surgery to help prevent the disease from returning. It can be used to treat early cancer or assist shrink the cancer before surgery.

Oncolytics Biotech® Inc. (NASDAQ: ONCY) (TSX: ONC), is a clinical-stage immunotherapeutics company focused on oncology just announced it has submitted an amendment to GOBLET to initiate a new Phase 1/2 cohort and the fifth of the GOBLET gastrointestinal cancer study, is being supported by the US$5 million Therapeutic Accelerator Award from the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network (PanCAN), an innovative program established to accelerate the development of new treatments for pancreatic cancer.

Radiotherapy

High-energy radiation beams are used in radiotherapy to destroy cancer cells. Pancreatic cancer is not frequently treated with radiation therapy. If surgery is not an option due to illness or the cancer cannot be removed surgically, you may still receive radiotherapy as a form of early cancer treatment. This type of treatment is typically administered in conjunction with chemotherapy prior to surgery in order to reduce the size of the cancer. Additionally, it can be applied to help manage and lessen advanced cancer symptoms. There are very few companies that offer localised radiation as the majority offer forms of treatment that hurt surrounding tissue. 

OncoSil™ delivers a predetermined amount of beta radiation to pancreatic tissue. OncoSil™ emits beta particles that damage cancer cell DNA, preventing further division and growth. In combination with Gemcitabine or FOLFIRINOX, it is thought to be a better therapeutic option for locally advanced, unresectable pancreatic cancer. This is a new form of targeted radiotherapy that minimises damage and reduces recovery time required. 

Supportive care

Numerous other therapies are available to assist in alleviating your symptoms and improving pancreatic cancer symptoms. We refer to this as supportive care. Treatments for pancreatic cancer can help with a variety of symptoms, such as difficulty eating and weight loss (which may involve the prescription of enzyme replacement tablets to improve your food digestion); discomfort, fatigue; and feeling or being nauseous (which may involve the prescription of anti-sickness tablets). 

There are many ways of treating pancreatic cancer depending on the severity, and while there exist several types of treatments and therapeutics, new forms of treatment are speeding up recovery times and preventing treatments like chemotherapy from increasing recovery times and damaging vital surrounding tissue.