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Updated: Dec 6, 2025
Robot Assisted Distal Pancreatectomy with Celiac Axis Resection DP-CAR for Pancreatic Cancer: Surgical Planning and Technique
Published on: August 14, 2021
Patient experience and quality of life during neoadjuvant therapy for pancreatic cancer: a systematic review and
Jordan M Cloyd1,2, Sarah Hyman3, Tanya Huwig4
1Department of Surgery, College of Medicine, The Ohio State Wexner Medical Center, Columbus, OH, USA. jordan.cloyd@osumc.edu.
Purpose:
Neoadjuvant therapy (NT) is increasingly being offered to patients with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) prior to surgical resection. However, the experience and quality of life (QOL) of patients undergoing NT are poorly understood.
Methods:
A systematic review of the Cinahl, Embase, Medline, Pubmed, Scopus, and Web of Science databases was conducted to evaluate the available literature pertaining to the experience and QOL of patient's undergoing NT for PDAC.
Results:
Among 6041 articles screened, only six met criteria for full-text review including three prospective clinical trials of NT with QOL secondary endpoints. Overall, global QOL during or following NT did not significantly change from baseline. Pain scores seemed to improve during NT while the impact of NT on physical functioning varied across studies. No studies were identified evaluating other aspects of the patient experience.
Conclusion:
Although NT appears to have a minor impact on the QOL of patients with PDAC, this systematic review identified significant evidence gaps in the literature. A protocol of a prospective observational cohort study utilizing a digital smartphone app that aims to evaluate the patient experience and longitudinal QOL of patients with PDAC undergoing NT is presented.
