Intraoperative radiotherapy (IORT) is a single fractional procedure performed during surgery in patients with pancreatic cancer. Its usage will increase in the future, particularly in abdominal disorders such as pancreatic cancer, in which prognostic outcomes are still poor despite technical improvements in radiotherapy and new drugs in chemotherapy. In this paper, we reported the case of a patient with pancreatic carcinoma localized in the junction of the head and body of the pancreas. After preoperative chemoradiotherapy (45 Gy radiotherapy with gemcitabine), distal pancreatectomy and splenectomy were performed and 12.5 Gy IORT was administered. The postoperative course was uneventful, except for a wound infection that was conservatively treated. A pathologic examination revealed resection of adenocarcinoma with negative surgical borders. The aim of this case report was to present the first IORT application for pancreatic cancer in Turkey. IORT can be used to decrease the possibility of microscopic residual disease in pancreatic tumors.
Keywords: Intraoperative radiotherapy, pancreatic carcinoma, gemcitabine