In a national first, doctors at Rome’s San Camillo Forlanini Hospital have successfully performed internal radiotherapy on a pancreatic tumor previously deemed inoperable, using a state of the art endoscopic technique that could reshape treatment protocols across Europe.
The procedure, carried out on May 11 on a 65-year-old patient, involved the implantation of OncoSil™—a device that delivers radioactive Phosphorus-32 microparticles directly into the tumor. The targeted therapy allows the radiation to act from within, maximizing its impact on the cancer while minimizing exposure to surrounding healthy tissue.
The patient was discharged the following day after responding exceptionally well, according to Dr. Guido Ventroni, clinical lead of the European study “Osprey,” under which the procedure was performed. The first follow-up showed no side effects and confirmed the effectiveness of the implant.
“This marks a milestone in pancreatic cancer care,” Ventroni said, noting that the case was selected for its complexity and is now expected to serve as a reference model for similar treatments in Europe.
The trial includes top-tier institutions such as Rome’s Policlinico Gemelli, the Verona Pancreas Institute, and the National Cancer Institute in Milan. The San Camillo procedure is the first in Italy to employ this technology as part of the ongoing multinational study.
Narciso Mostarda, General Director of San Camillo-Forlanini, called the operation “the result of a full year of multidisciplinary coordination, perseverance, and scientific courage.” He praised the medical team for embracing innovation to confront one of medicine’s most lethal challenges, and underscored the role of clinical research as “the only path forward for opening new therapeutic avenues.”
Pancreatic cancer remains one of the most aggressive and elusive forms of cancer. Often diagnosed only at an advanced stage due to a lack of early symptoms, it affects more than 14,000 people annually in Italy and 67,440 new cases in the U.S. Mortality rates remain high, with few patients eligible for surgery.
International data on OncoSil™ suggest promising results: nearly one in three patients receiving the implant become eligible for surgery, and resection has been successfully completed in roughly 25% of cases.
For San Camillo, this debut marks a potential turning point in how pancreatic tumors are approached—offering new hope where options have long been limited.
