What's in the 'IRE' section?
- What is irreversible electroporation (IRE) for pancreatic cancer?
- Who can have irreversible electroporation (IRE)?
- What does IRE for pancreatic cancer involve?
- What are the side effects of IRE?
IRE is only suitable for a few people with pancreatic cancer. This will depend on your cancer, and what treatments you have already had. If you want to find out more, speak to your doctor about whether it might be an option for you.
- IRE may occasionally be offered to a few people with borderline resectable pancreatic cancer.
- It may also be suitable for some people with locally advanced pancreatic cancer.
Borderline resectable pancreatic cancer
Occasionally, IRE may be suitable for a small number of people with borderline resectable pancreatic cancer.
What is margin accentuation?
During surgery to remove the cancer, IRE may be used for margin accentuation. This means that the IRE is used to treat the cells around the edges of the tumour before it is removed. The aim is to make the surgery as successful as possible. Margin accentuation should be done as part of research.
We don’t know much about IRE for borderline resectable pancreatic cancer and we need more research into this.
Locally advanced pancreatic cancer
Chemotherapy is the standard treatment for locally advanced cancer.
IRE may be suitable for some people with locally advanced cancer. The aim of IRE is to slow the growth of the cancer, help people live longer and treat symptoms.
What else can affect whether I can have IRE?
Other things can affect whether IRE is suitable for you.
- You will need to be fit enough to have a general anaesthetic.
- IRE may not be suitable if you have an irregular heartbeat (atrial fibrillation), a pacemaker or other types of heart problems such as congestive heart failure or coronary artery disease. This is because the electrical currents can affect your heartbeat. Speak to your doctor about this. They may need to do an assessment to check if you are fit enough for IRE.
- Whether you can have IRE may depend on what other treatments you have already had.
- It may also depend on how big the tumour is. It can be difficult to treat the whole tumour with IRE if it is larger.
Speak to your consultant about whether IRE might be an option for you and what it involves before making any decisions about your treatment.
References
We have listed some of the references to the sources used to write this information. If you would like the full list of references, email us at publications@pancreaticcancer.org.uk
- Lafranceschina S, Brunetti O, Delvecchio A, Conticchio M, Ammendola M, Currò G, et al. Systematic Review of Irreversible Electroporation Role in Management of Locally Advanced Pancreatic Cancer. Cancers. 2019;11:1718. doi:10.3390/cancers11111718.
- Moris D, Machairas N, Tsilimigras D, Prodromidou A, Ejaz A, Weiss M, et al. Systematic Review of Surgical and Percutaneous Irreversible Electroporation in the Treatment of Locally Advanced Pancreatic Cancer. Ann Surg Oncol. 2019;26:1657-1668.
- National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. Irreversible electroporation for treating pancreatic cancer. NICE Interventional procedures guidance [IPG579] May 2017 https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ipg579
- Ratnayake B, Al-Leswas D, Mohammadi-Zaniani G, Littler P, Sen G, Manas D, Pandanaboyana S. Margin Accentuation Irreversible Electroporation in Stage III Pancreatic Cancer: A Systematic Review. Cancers. 2021;13(13):3212. https://doi.org/10.3390/cancers13133212
- Scheffer H, Vroomen L, de Jong M, Melenhorst M, Zonderhuis B, Daams F, et al. Ablation of Locally Advanced Pancreatic Cancer with Percutaneous Irreversible Electroporation: Results of the Phase I/II PANFIRE Study. Radiology. 2017;282(2).
- Shuiqing H, Sheng L. Is irreversible electroporation (IRE) an effective and safe ablation method for locally advanced pancreatic cancer: A meta-analysis. Health Sciences Review. 2022;3:100029.
- Sugumar K, Hurtado A, Naik I, Hue JJ, Rothermel LD, Ammori JB, Mardacre JM, Winter JM, Ocuin LM. Multimodal therapy with or without irreversible electroporation for unresectable locally advanced pancreatic adenocarcinoma: a systematic review and meta-analysis. HPB. 2022;24:586-595. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hpb.2021.12.014.
Updated: September 2025
To be reviewed: September 2027