text_1: New Data Shows Irreversible Electroporation Nearly Doubles Overall Survival of Patients with Locally Advanced Pancreatic Cancer When Added to Standard Therapy
text_2: A futuristic-sounding medical treatment is paired with a bold claim of survival benefit in this news release. But the release is missing basic information to back up the headline’s claims and put the treatment’s efficacy into perspective. And an important conflict of interest is not disclosed. Such omissions could help instill false hope in sufferers of pancreatic cancer and their families. [Editor’s note: At the top of this review, we’ve left blank the area where we’d normally put the logo for the organization that issued this new release. This reflects our uncertainty as to who should be considered the source of this news. As we’ve discussed in a blog post, the release is worded to suggest that it originated with the University of Louisville, and it includes a University of Louisville media contact. However, that contact has told us, via email and a comment on this review, that the release originated with MCS Healthcare Public Relations, which was working with a member of the University of Louisville faculty. That faculty member, in turn, suggested to us that the release was in fact cleared and sanctioned by the University. The University of Louisville media contact has refused to provide any further clarification. We’re unsure whom to believe, so we’ve deliberately left blank the area where we’d normally indicate the news release source. The fact that we can’t even tell where this news came from should raise questions about the process that produced it.] Pancreatic cancer is one of the most aggressive forms of cancer, killing nearly three-quarters of victims within a year of diagnosis and about 94 percent within five years. One reason, according to the CDC, is that nearly 80 percent of patients are diagnosed too late for surgery (which can extend median survival by about 10 months). Thus any treatment shown to be effective in treating the disease–especially a minimally invasive, non-surgical method–could possibly reduce patients’ suffering and provide them significantly more quality time with their loved ones.