Distal pancreatectomy with celiac axis resection for pancreatic body cancer: a single center review of 89 consecutive cases

Abstract

Objective: To investigate the clinical efficacy of distal pancreatectomy with celiac axis resection(DP-CAR). Methods: A total of 89 consecutive patients (50 males and 39 females) who were diagnosed with pancreatic body cancer and underwent DP-CAR in Pancreas Center,First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University between September 2013 and June 2022 were retrospectively reviewed. There were 50 males and 39 females,with age(M(IQR)) of 63(12) years(range:43 to 81 years). Perioperative parameters,pathology results and follow-up data of these patients were analyzed,χ2 or Fisher's test for categorical data while the Wilcoxon test for quantitative data. Survival results were estimated by the Kaplan-Meier survival method. Results: Among 89 cases,cases combined with portal vein-superior mesenteric vein or organ resection accounted for 22.5% (20/89) and 42.7% (38/89),respectively. The operative time,blood loss and postoperative hospital stay were 270 (110) minutes,300 (300) ml and 13 (10) days,respectively. The overall morbidity rate was 67.4% (60/89) while the major morbidity was 11.2% (10/89). The increase rate in transient liver enzymes was 42.7% (38/89),3.4% (3/89) for liver failure,53.9% (48/89) for clinically relevant postoperative pancreatic fistula,1.1% (1/89) for bile leak,3.4% (3/89) for chylous leak of grade B and C,11.2% (10/89) for abdominal infection,9.0% (8/89) for postoperative hemorrhage of grade B and C,4.5% (4/89) for delayed gastric emptying,6.7% (6/89) for deep vein thrombosis,3.4% (3/89) for reoperation,4.5% (4/89)for hospital mortality,7.9% (7/89) for 90-day mortality. The pathological type was pancreatic cancer for all 89 cases and pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma made up 92.1% (82/89). The tumor size was 4.8(2.0) cm, ranging from 1.5 to 12.0 cm. The number of lymph nodes harvested was 14 (13)(range:2 to 33),with a positive lymph node rate of 13.0% (24.0%). The resection R0 rate was 30.0% (24/80) and the R1 (<1 mm) rate was 58.8% (47/80). The median overall survival time was 21.3 months (95%CI: 15.6 to 24.3) and the median disease-free survival time was 19.1 months (95%CI: 11.7 to 25.1). The overall survival at 1-year and 2-year were 69.60% and 39.52%. The median survival time of 58 patients with adjuvant chemotherapy was 24.3 months (95%CI: 17.8 to 32.3) while that of 13 patients without any kind of adjuvant therapy was 8.4 months (95%CI: 7.3 to 22.3). Seven patients accepted neoadjuvant chemotherapy and there was no significant morbidity among them,with a resection rate of R0 of 5/7. Conclusion: DP-CAR is safe and feasible for selective cases,which could be more valuable in improving long-term survival when combined with (neo) adjuvant therapy.