As part of November, which has been established as pancreatic cancer awareness month, a new international study, in which the Department of Liver, Pancreatic and Biliary Surgery of the HYGEIA hospitalseems to bring about significant changes in the postoperative follow-up of patients with pancreatic cancer.

The study, which was published in the leading medical journal JAMA Surgery with a title “Routine Imaging or Symptomatic Follow-Up After Resection of Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma” (with the highest impact factor among surgical journals, 16.6), demonstrates that systematic imaging monitoring of patients after pancreatic cancer surgery leads to early detection of recurrences and targeted therapeutic intervention, thereby increasing overall patient survival.

HYGEIA, under the direction of Mr. Georgiou Tzima, was the only private hospital and one of the two Greek centers that participated in this multicenter study.

Mr. Georgios Tzimas, Director of the Department of Liver, Pancreatic and Biliary Surgery at HYGEIAcommented on the results of the study saying:

“Pancreatic cancer is increasing in frequency and is expected to soon become the second leading cause of death from neoplastic diseases. This particular study fundamentally changes the way we follow up our patients after surgery, as the aggressive follow-up strategy of targeted local therapies, where possible, leads to improved patient survival. Our participation in this international prospective multicenter study, as well as in other international research on liver, pancreatic and biliary surgery, combined with the application of new surgical techniques, such as robotic surgery with the Da Vinci Xi system for liver tumors and pancreas – as well as the most modern surgical techniques (use of grafts for locally advanced tumors of the pancreas or liver), confirm the commitment us to continuously improve the services provided to cancer patients in these areas.”