Gastrointestinal Cancers

Surgeon Ryan Merkow, MD, looking at a scan in an operating room

Call 1-855-702-8222 Find a GI Cancer Expert

Nationally Known Experts, Individualized Care

Doctors at the University of Chicago Medicine Center for Gastrointestinal Oncology are experts in the diagnosis, treatment and management of a wide variety of cancers of the digestive system. Through innovative surgical techniques and the latest treatment approaches, our doctors offer patients the highest chance of success against their disease.

Most gastrointestinal cancers are best treated with a combination of therapies. Patients who come to the Center for Gastrointestinal Oncology benefit from the expertise of many specialists through our multidisciplinary review program. Our surgeons, medical oncologists, radiation oncologists, interventional endoscopists, gastroenterologists and other specialists work together to identify the optimal treatment strategy for each patient.

Gastrointestinal Cancers We Treat

Our physicians treat the full range of gastrointestinal cancers, including:

Medical oncologist Blase Polite, MD, and gastroenterologist Sonia Kupfer, MD

Assessing Your Risk for GI Cancers

We offer comprehensive cancer risk and prevention services, including genetic testing and counseling, and tailored risk reduction plans.

Ryan Merkow, MD, holding a hepatic artery infusion (HAI) device

Hepatic Artery Infusion (HAI) Pump Chemotherapy

HAI is an advanced treatment for tumors that have spread to the liver due to metastatic colorectal cancer or metastatic bile duct cancer.

Hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemoperfusion (HIPEC)

HIPEC: Targeted Heated Chemotherapy for Abdominal Cancers

Convenient Locations for Cancer Care

Request an Appointment for Cancer Care

The information you provide in this form will enable us to assist you as efficiently as possible. A representative will contact you within one to two business days to help you schedule an appointment.

To speak to someone directly, please call 1-855-702-8222. If you have symptoms of an urgent nature, please call your doctor or go to the emergency room immediately.

For Referring Physicians

To refer a patient for cancer care, please call UCM Physician Connect at 1-800-824-2282.

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What Is the Whipple Procedure?

Learn about the Whipple procedure, or pancreaticoduodenectomy, the most common surgery for removal of cancer of the pancreas.

Video Transcript

[MUSIC PLAYING] Surgery may be an option for patients with pancreatic cancer. The Whipple procedure is the most common surgery to remove cancer in the pancreas. This is also called the pancreaticoduodenectomy. The goal of the Whipple surgical procedure is to remove an entire tumor in the head or neck of the pancreas.

UChicago Medicine is one of few centers in the country that offer the Whipple procedure using both traditional open and robot-assisted techniques. An expert multi-disciplinary team of cancer doctors needs to go over every patient's case. The surgeon then discusses the risks and benefits with each patient to determine if the Whipple is right for them.

During the procedure, the surgical team removes the head of the pancreas. Then they remove the first portion of the small intestine, or duodenum, gallbladder, part of the bile duct, and nearby lymph nodes. In some cases, a small part of the stomach and portions of the nearby artery and vein may also need to be removed.

The final step is to reconnect the pancreas with the bile duct, stomach, and intestine so food can pass through the digestive system once again.

UChicago Medicine works to enhance recovery so patients can go home as soon as possible. Depending on the type and stage of the tumor, patients may undergo outpatient chemotherapy before or after surgery, or both. Because the Whipple surgery is a complex procedure, it's important to be treated by a highly experienced surgical team.

The American Cancer Society recommends patients have the Whipple operation at a hospital that does at least 15 to 20 of these surgeries per year. Surgeons at UChicago Medicine perform up to five times that many Whipple procedures annually. Want more information about pancreatic cancer and the Whipple procedure? UChicago Medicine is here to help.