MITERA as Reference Centre for Pancreatic Cancer
On Thursday, November 20, 2025, a Press Conference was successfully held at the Conference Centre “N. Louros” of MITERA Hospital on the occasion of World Pancreatic Cancer Day, observed, every year, on the Third Thursday of November. The event was attended by representatives of the media and the medical community, who were informed about MITERA’s leading and pioneering role in the surgery and overall management of patients with pancreatic cancer.
MITERA is at the forefront of the pancreatic cancer treatment, while the specialized department of the Hospital cooperates closely with leading pancreatic centres in the USA, such as the Mayo Clinic, Massachusetts General Hospital and Johns Hopkins. The experienced team at MITERA has managed to quadruple the survival rate of several patients (102 so far) who were previously considered to suffer from “inoperable” cancer, turning it into operable, thanks to the implementation of therapeutic protocols that combine modern chemotherapy, radiotherapy and radical surgery.
These results have been certified and published in European and American scientific journals, thus contributing to the international scientific community. They have also been repeatedly announced at leading international pancreas conferences, so that they can be utilized by hospitals and physician from all over the world.
Typically, at MITERA an average of 150 patients with pancreatic cancer are seen each year, representing 20% of the country’s total patient population. Pancreatic cancer resections consistently exceed 40 per year, a figure well above the threshold required by the U.S National Pancreas Foundation for a hospital to be designated as a Pancreas Reference Centre. MITERA therefore currently meets all the rigorous quantitative and qualitative criteria that, in the United States, would qualify it as a Pancreatic Cancer Centre of Excellence.
The event was opened by Mr. Stavros Sougioultzis, Chief Operating Officer of MITERA, and Mr. Vasilios Sioulas, Head of the Scientific Board of MITERA. Introductory remarks were then delivered by Mr. Ilias Athanasiadis, Director of the Oncology Clinic, and Ms. Charitini Salla, Director of Cytology, who highlighted the modern methods of diagnosis and treatment applied at MITERA.
The keynote speaker was Mr. Grigorios Tsiotos, General Surgeon and Director of the First Surgical Clinic of MITERA, who stated: “MITERA has been established itself as a Pancreatic Cancer Reference Centre. This is because it provides comprehensive, multidisciplinary management to an exceptionally large number of patients—representing 20% of the country’s total caseload—and, for over a decade, has led nationwide advances in converting unresectable pancreatic cancer into a resectable state, achieving a fourfold increase in survival rates. From diagnosis to treatment, and from psychological support to rehabilitation, our multidisciplinary team ensures the highest standards of care for every patient, as demonstrated in multiple peer-reviewed publications in the international scientific literature”.
Mr. Stavros Sougioultzis, Chief Operating Officer of MITERA, during his greeting emphasized: “At MITERA, the patient always remains at the centre of everything we do. For this reason, we continuously invest in highly specialized departments and state-of-the-art equipment in order to lead advancements in the field of pancreatic surgery. MITERA has become a reference point for the surgery and overall treatment of pancreatic cancer in our country. Based on documented results and international collaborations, we achieve survival rates that approach top global standards”.