Percutaneous irreversible Electroporation in Locally Advanced Pancreatic Cancer: A Review of Current Literature

Abstract

Pancreatic cancer (PC) is a highly lethal disease with a 5-year survival rate of 5-6%. To date, the only potentially curative option for PC remains surgical resection with microscopically negative margins. Given the poor survival rate of locally advanced PC (LAPC) patients, several studies explored the combination of conventional therapies with ablation therapies, showing promising results. Several studies showed that thermal ablation in PC, due to its anatomical localization, can induce heat-related damage to bile ducts, adjacent vessels, and gastrointestinal structures. Irreversible Electroporation (IRE) is a locoregional nonthermal ablative technique that induces cellular death by creating nanopores avoiding the aforementioned complications. Our review aims to provide an overview of the technique and highlight its current standpoint in the treatment of LAPC.