{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,19]],"date-time":"2026-08-19T05:25:31Z","timestamp":1787117131678,"version":"build-2736575974"},"reference-count":35,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,19]],"date-time":"2026-08-19T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1787097600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Oncol."],"abstract":"<jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Objective<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Irreversible electroporation (IRE) is a promising non-thermal ablative modality for advanced pancreatic cancer (APC). However, whether tumor location influences outcomes remain unclear due to distinct anatomical relationships between the pancreatic head\/neck and body\/tail. This study compared the safety, efficacy, and survival outcomes of IRE between patients with pancreatic head\/neck and body\/tail tumors.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>We analyzed a real-world cohort of 63 consecutive patients with advanced pancreatic cancer (comprising primary, post-resection recurrent, and oligometastatic diseases) who underwent percutaneous CT-guided IRE between March 2018 and July 2024. Patients were stratified into the head\/neck group (n=39) and the body\/tail group (n=24). Baseline characteristics, procedural parameters, adverse events, overall survival (OS), event-free survival (EFS), and tumor marker changes (CA19-9\/CEA) were compared.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      Median age was 66 years (head\/neck) versus 61 years (body\/tail) (\n                      <jats:italic>P<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u00a0=\u00a00.468). The body\/tail group had significantly higher body weight (median 56 vs. 47\u00a0kg,\n                      <jats:italic>P<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u00a0=\u00a00.021) and BMI (median 20.19 vs. 17.99 kg\/m\u00b2,\n                      <jats:italic>P<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u00a0=\u00a00.021). No significant differences were observed in IRE procedural parameters. Elevated serum amylase was the most common adverse event (61.5% vs. 58.3%,\n                      <jats:italic>P<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u00a0=\u00a01.000), and complication rates were comparable. Median OS from surgery was 8.7 versus 9.37 months (\n                      <jats:italic>P<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u00a0=\u00a00.788), while OS from diagnosis was 22.80 versus 21.32 months (\n                      <jats:italic>P<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u00a0=\u00a00.948). Median EFS was 6.00 versus 6.25 months (\n                      <jats:italic>P<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u00a0=\u00a00.357). No significant differences were found in 1-month post-IRE CA19\u20139 or CEA ratio changes (\n                      <jats:italic>P<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u00a0=\u00a00.783 and\n                      <jats:italic>P<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u00a0=\u00a00.295, respectively).\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Conclusions<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>In this cohort of patients with relatively low BMI, percutaneous CT-guided IRE demonstrated comparable safety and efficacy between pancreatic head\/neck and body\/tail locations. Tumor location alone may not limit IRE feasibility; however, caution is needed when generalizing these findings to Western populations with higher BMI, and larger prospective studies are warranted.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fonc.2026.1890752","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,19]],"date-time":"2026-08-19T04:41:45Z","timestamp":1787114505000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Does tumor location affect irreversible electroporation outcomes in pancreatic cancer? A head-to-head comparative cohort study"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"16","author":[{"given":"Tiankuan","family":"Li","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Interventional Radiology, Wuxi branch of Ruijin Hospital Shanghai","place":["Wuxi, Jiangsu, China"]},{"name":"Department of Radiology, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine","place":["Shanghai, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Xiaoyu","family":"Liu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Radiology, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine","place":["Shanghai, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Qungang","family":"Shan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Radiology, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine","place":["Shanghai, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jingfeng","family":"Li","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Radiology, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine","place":["Shanghai, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Wei","family":"Huang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Interventional Radiology, Wuxi branch of Ruijin Hospital Shanghai","place":["Wuxi, Jiangsu, China"]},{"name":"Department of Radiology, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine","place":["Shanghai, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Xiaoheng","family":"Hu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Interventional Radiology, Wuxi branch of Ruijin Hospital Shanghai","place":["Wuxi, Jiangsu, 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