Seal R, Bararia A, Chattopadhyay BK, Sikdar N. Irreversible electroporation for metastatic pancreatic carcinoma with liver metastasis: What does the evidence say. World J Clin Cases 2025; 13(3): 98452 [DOI: 10.12998/wjcc.v13.i3.98452]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Nilabja Sikdar, PhD, Researcher, Human Genetics Unit, Indian Statistical Institute, 203 BT Road, Kolkata 700108, West Bengal, India. snilabja@gmail.com
Research Domain of This Article
Gastroenterology & Hepatology
Article-Type of This Article
Editorial
Open-Access Policy of This Article
This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
World J Clin Cases. Jan 26, 2025; 13(3): 98452 Published online Jan 26, 2025. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v13.i3.98452
Irreversible electroporation for metastatic pancreatic carcinoma with liver metastasis: What does the evidence say
Ranit Seal, Akash Bararia, Bitan Kumar Chattopadhyay, Nilabja Sikdar
Ranit Seal, Bitan Kumar Chattopadhyay, Department of General Surgery, IPGME & R and SSKM Hospital, Kolkata 700020, West Bengal, India
Akash Bararia, Nilabja Sikdar, Human Genetics Unit, Indian Statistical Institute, Kolkata 700108, West Bengal, India
Nilabja Sikdar, Estaurine and Coastal Studies Foundation, Howrah 711101, India
Author contributions: Seal R and Bararia A wrote the manuscript; Chottopadhyay BK contributed to the clinical evaluation of the study; Sikdar N conceptualized, edited, proofread, and corresponded the manuscript; All authors read and approved the final version of the manuscript to be published.
Supported by Department of Biotechnology, Government of India, No. RLS/BT/Re-entry/05/2012.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors do not have any competing interests to disclose.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/.
Corresponding author: Nilabja Sikdar, PhD, Researcher, Human Genetics Unit, Indian Statistical Institute, 203 BT Road, Kolkata 700108, West Bengal, India. snilabja@gmail.com
Received: June 26, 2024 Revised: September 26, 2024 Accepted: October 16, 2024 Published online: January 26, 2025 Processing time: 138 Days and 20.9 Hours
Abstract
Irreversible electroporation is a promising non-thermal ablation method that has been shown to increase overall survival in locally advanced pancreatic cancer in some studies. However, higher quality studies with proper controls and randomization are required to establish its superiority when added with neoadjuvant chemotherapy over the current management of choice, which is chemotherapy alone. Further studies are required before establishment of any survival benefit in metastatic pancreatic carcinoma, and such evidence is lacking at present.
Core Tip: Irreversible electroporation (IRE) is a non-thermal ablation technique that may increase survival for locally advanced pancreatic carcinoma when combined with chemotherapy. However, its efficacy in metastatic pancreatic carcinoma with liver metastasis is not yet established. Further high-quality studies with proper controls and randomization are needed. IRE can preserve neighboring structures and avoid the heat-sink effect, but it requires careful patient selection and has potential complications. The procedure is typically performed under general anesthesia and has several contraindications. While IRE may offer a new frontier in treating pancreatic cancer, its role in metastatic disease requires more research to confirm its benefits.
