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Pancreatic cancer: gradual rise, increasing relevance
Author(s) -
Sitas Freddy,
Neale Rachel E,
Weber Marianne F,
Luo Qingwei
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
medical journal of australia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.904
H-Index - 131
eISSN - 1326-5377
pISSN - 0025-729X
DOI - 10.5694/mja15.00137
Subject(s) - pancreatic cancer , medicine , incidence (geometry) , cancer , pancreas , overweight , subclinical infection , epidemiology , endoscopic ultrasound , obesity , radiology , physics , optics
However, individual practitioners’ enthusiasm for or belief in a new operation should not expose patients to oversold, poorly evaluated interventions. Surgical randomised controlled trials are difficult to perform, but they are possible. There are very few examples of operations that cannot be carefully evaluated following the IDEAL recommendations.9 Usually, there are alternative established approaches that provide other avenues for patients who are unwilling to be included in research studies. Surgeons have a responsibility to innovate, stay up-to-date and retrain, primarily for the benefit of their patients. Guidelines, processes and regulations exist and should be embraced. Do we really know the place of innovative technologies and practices that are already in use — for example, duodenal sleeve technology,10 peritonectomy,11 robotic thyroid surgery5 or mitral clip technology?12 If not, how carefully and ethically are they being introduced into mainstream practice?