Chinese expert consensus on radioactive 125I seeds interstitial implantation brachytherapy for pancreatic cancer.

Pancreatic cancer, also known as exocrine pancreatic carcinoma or pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma, is one of the most challenging tumor entities worldwide, which is characterized as a highly aggressive disease with dismal overall prognosis. Treatment options for patients with locally advanced pancreatic cancer include surgery, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy. In many cases, surgical resection is not possible due to the advanced stage at diagnosis and poor responses to current treatments, therefore, treatment alternatives have to be performed. However, brachytherapy through radioactive 125I seeds (RIS) implantation into pancreatic cancer has been first applied in unresectable carcinoma and made accuracy curative effects. Therapeutic procedures of RIS implantation for pancreatic carcinoma were not identical in domestic medical centers, making it hard to achieve homogeneity and affecting the efficacy seriously at last. To maximize the benefits of RIS for patients with pancreatic cancer, Chinese Medical Doctor Association of Radioactive Seed Implantation Technology Expert Committee and Committee of Minimally Invasive Therapy in Oncology, Chinese Anti-Cancer Association, Radioactive Seed Therapy Branch organized and helped establish China expert consensus on RIS implantation for the treatment of pancreatic cancer, to provide a reference for clinical practices.