Role of Stereotactic Body Radiotherapy in the Treatment of Elderly and Poor Performance Status Patients With Pancreatic Cancer

Literature on the management of nonmetastatic pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma in patients who are elderly or have poor performance status is sparse. The median survival of this unique cohort of patients is < 6 months, and most patients are only offered single-agent gemcitabine or supportive care. Recently, adding nanoparticle albumin-bound paclitaxel to gemcitabine was shown to improve survival of patients with metastatic disease with Eastern Cooperative Group performance status of 2. Although standard chemoradiotherapy provides long-term locoregional control in locally advanced pancreatic cancer, it is difficult for this group of patients to tolerate 6 weeks of therapy. Stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) can be delivered in only 3 to 5 days, does not require concurrent chemotherapy, and has limited toxicity, and tumor control rates appear to be equivalent to or better than those achieved with standard chemoradiotherapy. Additionally, SBRT has been shown to improve cancer-related pain and patient-reported quality of life. Given the favorable toxicity profile, SBRT seems like an obvious choice for patients who are elderly, have multiple comorbidities, or have poor performance status. Herein, we review the literature on SBRT in this unique patient population and discuss future directions.