Ultrasonically guided percutaneous implantation of iodine-125 seeds in pancreatic carcinoma

Cancer of the pancreas is most often not diagnosed before it has reached unresectable stages. The development of effective palliative treatment for these patients and for those with recurrence after resection is clearly needed. The present study reports the results of ultrasonically guided percutaneous implantation of 125I seeds in 19 patients with cancer of the pancreas. Twelve patients had further adjuvant external radiation. Despite satisfactory seed placement and delivery of the planned radiation dose in most cases, clinical improvement was lacking or only slight and short-lived. No difference in survival or palliation was observed between patients treated with seeds alone compared with patients treated with seeds and external radiation. Survival after seed implantation was short (median 140 days, range 7-401 days). Ultrasonically guided percutaneous implantation of 125I seeds cannot be recommended in the treatment of unresectable carcinoma of the pancreas.