The clinical utility of image-guided iodine-125 seed in patients with unresectable pancreatic cancer.

In the present study, we investigated the clinical effects of image-guided iodine-125 ((125)I) seed on unresectable pancreatic cancer. Twenty-five patients with unresectable pancreatic cancer were enrolled in this study, including 13 patients with seed implantation and 12 patients as control. The survival status, clinical benefits, objective curative effects, and relevant tumor markers were analyzed to assess the feasibility and safety of interstitial (125)I seed implantation. We found that the clinical benefit rate of the seed implantation group is 92.3 % (12/13), compared with 41.7 % (5/12) in the control, and the difference was statistically significant (p < 0.01). Compared with control, patients with seed implantation had significantly shorter operative time, less bleeding, higher albumin, shorter periods to bowel movement, and normal diet as well as lower risk of complications (p < 0.001). The differences of objective curative effects adverse effects, complications, and median survival between these two groups were not significant statistically (p > 0.05). In conclusion, (125)I seed implantation provides a safe and effective method to inhibit the tumor development, relieve pain, and improve quality of life for unresectable pancreatic cancer. These findings need to be validated by conducting further studies with larger cohorts.