Australian-developed therapy outperforms standard of care in pancreatic cancer

An Australian-developed device is redefining the fight against one of the deadliest cancers, with new analysis marking a breakthrough in the treatment of pancreatic cancer.

Patients with locally advanced pancreatic cancer (LAPC) treated with the OncoSil brachytherapy device experienced superior overall and progression-free survival outcomes compared to those receiving stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT).

Developed by Sydney-based medtech company OncoSil Medical, the OncoSil device is a single-use, intratumoural brachytherapy implant that delivers radioactive Phosphorous-32 (32P) directly into pancreatic tumours under endoscopic ultrasound guidance. It is approved for clinical use in over 30 countries – though notably, not yet in Australia.

The latest findings, presented at Digestive Disease Week (DDW2025) this week, mark the first comparative study between OncoSil and SBRT added to standard-of-care chemotherapy in patients with unresectable or borderline-resectable LAPC. The analysis was led by Dr Amanda Lim at the Royal Adelaide Hospital and involved over 100 patients treated over an eight-year period.

The findings show that patients receiving OncoSil had a median overall survival of 22 months compared to 14 months in the SBRT group (p=0.004). Local and distant progression-free survival were also significantly longer with OncoSil (p=0.034 and p=0.019, respectively). Importantly, the rate of tumour downstaging was markedly higher (24% vs. 4.7%; p<0.001), as was the proportion of patients able to undergo surgical resection (22% vs. 0%; p<0.001).

OncoSil Medical CEO and Managing Director, Nigel Lange, said “The results of this important analysis highlight the superiority of the OncoSil device compared to Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy, which is considered to be the best available system for delivering external beam radiotherapy to patients with locally advanced pancreatic cancer.

“This is also the first study to report on the outcomes following OncoSil in a broad cohort of patients that had either unresectable or borderline-resectable LAPC, indicating the potential for OncoSil treating patients with earlier stages of pancreatic cancer. These data provide further evidence of the efficacy and safety of OncoSil added to standard-of-care chemotherapy.”

Pancreatic cancer is the 3rd biggest cancer killer in Australia. Known for its silent progression and late-stage diagnosis, it carries a grim five-year survival rate of just 13%, with only 37% of patients surviving one year post-diagnosis.

In reimagining healthcare across the entire patient journey, Health Industry Hub^TM is the only one-stop-hub uniting the diversity of the Pharma, MedTech, Diagnostics & Biotech sectors to inspire meaningful change.

The Health Industry Hub^TM content is copyright protected. Access is available under individual user licenses. Please click here to subscribe and visit T&Cs here.