November: Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month – New post-operative follow-up data from a study at HYGEIA Hospital

26 November 2024

In the context of November being designated as Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month, a new international study, involving the Department of Liver, Pancreatic and Biliary Surgery at HYGEIA Hospital, appears to be bringing about significant changes in the post-operative follow-up of pancreatic cancer patients.

The study, entitled “Routine Imaging or Symptomatic Follow-Up After Resection of Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma,” published in the leading medical journal JAMA Surgery (with the highest response rate among surgical journals, 16.6), demonstrates that routine imaging follow-up of patients after surgery for pancreatic cancer leads to early detection of recurrence and targeted therapeutic intervention, thereby increasing overall patient survival

HYGEIA, under the direction of Mr. Georgios Tzimas, was the only private hospital and one of the two Greek centers to participate in this multicenter study.

Commenting on the results of the study, Georgios Tzimas, Director of the Department of Liver, Pancreatic and Biliary Surgery at HYGEIA, said: “Pancreatic cancer is of increasing incidence and is expected to soon become the second leading cause of mortality from neoplastic diseases. This study radically changes the way we follow up our patients after surgery, as an aggressive strategy of follow-up with targeted local therapies, where feasible, leads to improved patient survival. Our participation in this international prospective multicenter study, as well as other international research in liver, pancreatic and biliary surgery, combined with the application of new surgical techniques, such as robotic surgery with the Da Vinci Xi system for liver and pancreatic tumors – as well as the latest surgical techniques (use of grafts for locally advanced pancreatic or liver tumors), confirms our commitment to continuously improve the services provided to cancer patients in these areas.”