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Pancreatic cancer

Is it time for Dr Whipple's orphans to have a Facebook page?

The 8-year European Study Group for Pancreatic Cancer has determined that adjuvant chemotherapy for periampullary neoplasms prolongs survival compared with surgery alone. Is now the time to implement social networks or other web-based applications to assist investigators and clinicians to find the optimal treatment faster?

Key Points

Patients who adequately recover from pancreaticoduodenectomy for treatment of a localized periampullary adenocarcinoma should be offered 24 weeks of adjuvant systemic therapy of fluoropyrimidine-based or gemcitabine-based therapy.

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The author has acted as a consultant for Eli Lilly and Company.

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Wolff, R. Is it time for Dr Whipple's orphans to have a Facebook page?. Nat Rev Clin Oncol 9, 553–554 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrclinonc.2012.154

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