ONCOSIL: A revolutionary treatment for unresectable pancreatic cancer

ONCOSIL is a new type of disposable brachytherapy that has just been approved by the FDA (American Food and Drug Administration). This brachytherapy is intended for patients with local, unresectable, advanced pancreatic cancer.

The procedure is performed as follows: under the control of modern endoscopic ultrasound (EUS), a thin endoscope tube is inserted into the patient’s mouth, through which a special device containing radioactive material is delivered to the cancerous pancreatic tissues. With this device, the tumor is exposed to high-dose beta radiation, which almost does not affect healthy tissues, but very effectively destroys the cancer. As a result, the neoplasm is significantly reduced in size, which immediately reduces the intensity of symptoms. In addition, after using ONCOSIL in many patients, it is possible to completely remove the tumor.

In most cases, ONCOSIL is performed on an outpatient basis under sedation. At the same time the patient undergoes a course of chemotherapy. Until now, more than 200 procedures have been successfully performed worldwide.

At the end of May 2023, ONCOSIL technology was first applied at the Hadassah University Hospital. In a 68-year-old woman from Jerusalem, the tumor was located in the head of the pancreas and reached an advanced stage. Due to these two circumstances, it was impossible to perform a surgery to remove the neoplasm. The procedure came to excellent results.

At the Hadassah Clinic, ONCOSIL is performed by a multidisciplinary team of doctors, which includes leading gastroenterologists and nuclear medicine specialists.

The multidisciplinary team, which performs ONCOSIL at Hadassah.