In St. Petersburg, Russia, the 15th World Congress was held by the International Society of Cryosurgery. At the event, an international group of experts on cryosurgery and pancreatic cancer were invited to attend the event.
The treatment of pancreatic cancer is a difficult and tricky process. For pancreatic cancer patients, with no more than 5% of patients are candidates for surgical resection. For patients with unresectable pancreatic cancer, the median survival is only 3-6 months. Despite such negative statistics, there are encouraging therapies on the horizon. In 2001, Austria's Dr. Korpan proposed cryotherapy as an alternative surgical treatment for pancreatic cancer; and in November 2008, Professor Xu Kecheng~s report Percutaneous Cryotherapy for Pancreatic Cancer was awarded the Gold Medal by the Japan Society for Low Temperature Medicine.
Acknowledging the new developments in the field of cryotherapy, the 15th World Congress of Cryosurgery stocked with the General Assembly devoted time to discuss the treatment of pancreatic cancer with new cryosurgery techniques. Co-chairing the discussion at the event was Austria~s Dr. Nikolai N. Korpan, China~s Dr. Xu Kecheng, and Russia's Dr. Khanevich. Professor Xu Kecheng gave the first presentation on the complexities of using cryosurgery for pancreatic cancer, titled “Complexities of Pancreatic Cancer at Fuda Hospital”. The presentation was divided into three sections. The first phase (2003-2005) discussed the initial adoption of cryosurgery for pancreatic cancer, where cryosurgery was used as a standalone procedure. The second phase (2005-2008) discussed the combination of cryosurgery with brachytherapy, as complimentary therapies. The most recent and current phase begins from 2008 onward. In this phase, cryosurgery is complemented with brachytherapy and immunotherapy. Professor Khanevich, from St. Petersburg's Clinical Oncology Hospital, presented "Cryosurgery for Pancreatic Cancer." During these presentations, well-known American cryosurgery expert, Professor P. Littrup, attended and participated in the discussions.
