Conducting staging laparoscopy on patients who have recently been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer helps with the early detection of cancer spread and determination of the cancer's stage, according to a June 29 news release from Mayo Clinic.
Mayo Clinic conducted a five-year study that observed just over 1,000 patients with pancreatic cancer who underwent staging laparoscopy. The research found that the procedure helped detect cancer spread in the liver or lining of the abdomen in 1 of 5 patients.
"Pancreatic cancer is the least survivable of all cancers, and it spreads fast. So, to have this information if cancer has spread will benefit patients and help clinicians determine the right treatment for the patient as soon as possible," Mark Truty, M.D., surgical oncologist at the Mayo Clinic Comprehensive Cancer Center and leader of the study, told News Wise.
The procedure will more accurately determine a patient's prognosis and aid treatment decisions to prevent patients from undergoing unnecessary or potentially harmful surgical therapy, according to the release.
As the procedure provides more insight to a patient's severity of the cancer spread, staging laparoscopy is recommended to be performed on patients before they start chemotherapy, according to Hallbera Gudmundsdottir, MD, general surgery resident and Mayo Clinic Robert D. and Patricia E. Kern Center for the Science of Health Care Delivery Scholar.