Pancreatic cancer care at Mayo Clinic
Your Mayo Clinic care team
Mayo Clinic experts provide comprehensive care for people with pancreatic cancer. Your team may include specialists in surgery, gastroenterology, radiology, medical oncology, radiation oncology, laboratory medicine and pathology, nutrition and other areas if needed. Doctors from these specialties work together with you to understand your specific needs and to provide you with exactly the care you need. Learn more about the Pancreas Clinic.
This multidisciplinary approach ensures that you benefit from the experience of specialists in every aspect of your care. Close collaboration among your Mayo Clinic care team members enables them to have your test results available quickly and to coordinate your appointments.
A full range of supportive care, including integrative medicine and health and palliative care, is also available.
Mayo Clinic doctors have experience caring for people with all types of pancreatic tumors, including pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma and pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors.
Advanced diagnosis and treatment
Mayo Clinic doctors have access to advanced radiologic imaging and other diagnostic tools. Once the diagnosis is certain, your doctor will review your options and help you choose the treatment that best suits your needs and goals. Your treatment may involve chemotherapy, radiation therapy, surgery or a combination of these.
- Avoiding surgery with the right diagnosis. Pancreatic cancer can be very difficult to distinguish from another disease called autoimmune pancreatitis. This condition can be treated with steroids without the need for surgery, if diagnosed early enough. Mayo Clinic pancreas experts are leaders in developing diagnostic criteria for autoimmune pancreatitis.
- Basing treatment decisions on advanced imaging. Your Mayo Clinic doctors have specialized expertise in dedicated pancreatic CT, multidetector CT angiography, PET and MRI. These tests help to accurately stage your cancer. They're also used to determine if you are responding to treatments.
- Performing surgery when cancer affect nearby blood vessels. Many people are not considered eligible for the Whipple procedure or other pancreatic surgeries if their cancers involve nearby blood vessels. Mayo Clinic is one of the few centers in the United States with highly specialized, experienced surgeons who safely perform these operations in select patients. These procedures involve removing and rebuilding parts of blood vessels.
- Performing minimally invasive pancreatic surgery. In many cases, surgeons at Mayo Clinic can now perform complex pancreatic cancer operations using either small incisions, called laparoscopy, or robotic techniques, which have been shown to allow for a faster recovery. Mayo Clinic surgeons were among the first in the United States to perform these minimally invasive surgeries for people with pancreatic cancer.
- Using proton beam therapy. Mayo Clinic radiation oncologists use advanced techniques and technologies, including proton therapy, which focuses high-energy radiation on the cancer while sparing nearby healthy tissue.
Expertise and rankings
Mayo Clinic doctors are widely respected for their expertise in diagnosing and treating people with pancreatic cancer. Each year, more than 3,000 people with pancreatic cancer seek care at Mayo Clinic.
Mayo Clinic doctors care for people from all 50 states and from many countries.
Mayo Clinic Comprehensive Cancer Center meets the strict standards for a National Cancer Institute comprehensive cancer center. These standards recognize scientific excellence and a multispecialty approach focused on cancer prevention, diagnosis and treatment.
Mayo Clinic's campuses in Florida and Minnesota are designated by the National Pancreas Foundation (NPF) as approved NPF Centers. The designation is recognition for high-quality, multidisciplinary care.
Mayo Clinic has been recognized as a top cancer hospital by U.S. News & World Report since it began publishing rankings in 1990. Most recently, Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida, and Mayo Clinic in Phoenix/Scottsdale, Arizona, have been recognized among the top Cancer hospitals in the nation for 2023-2024 by U.S. News & World Report.
Learn more about Mayo Clinic's quality rankings.
Locations, travel and lodging
Mayo Clinic has major campuses in Phoenix and Scottsdale, Arizona; Jacksonville, Florida; and Rochester, Minnesota. The Mayo Clinic Health System has dozens of locations in several states.
For more information on visiting Mayo Clinic, choose your location below:
Costs and insurance
Mayo Clinic works with hundreds of insurance companies and is an in-network provider for millions of people.
In most cases, Mayo Clinic doesn't require a physician referral. Some insurers require referrals or may have additional requirements for certain medical care. All appointments are prioritized on the basis of medical need.
Learn more about appointments at Mayo Clinic.
Please contact your insurance company to verify medical coverage and to obtain any needed authorization prior to your visit. Often, your insurer's customer service number is printed on the back of your insurance card.