Major arterial resection for stage 3 adenocarcinoma of the pancreas.

Abstract

362 Background: Stage 3 pancreas ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is defined by arterial involvement, and its resection remains controversial. The objective of this study was to evaluate clinical and oncologic outcomes for patients with stage 3 PDAC who entered a treatment program of neoadjuvant therapy (NAT) and pancreatic resection, with comparison between those who underwent arterial (AR) vs. standard resection (SR). Methods: This cohort study included patients from 2009-2016 in a single academic institution, with biopsy-proven potentially resectable stage 3 PDAC who entered a treatment program of NAT followed by surgical exploration if non-progressive disease on imaging. AR was performed if required to achieve R0 resection. Oncological outcomes were analyzed as intention to treat from diagnosis date. Results: Eighty-nine patients met inclusion criteria, of whom 87 (97.8%) received chemotherapy and 50 (56.2%) received radiotherapy. 46/89 (51.7%) underwent surgical exploration; 31 underwent pancreas resection (AR n = 20, SR n = 11), and 15 were found to have metastatic or unresectable disease. The AR group had a longer operative time (681 vs. 563 minutes, p = 0.0059) and more blood loss (1600 vs. 575 mL, p = 0.0004) compared with SR, with no difference between groups for blood transfusion, overall complications, pancreatic fistula, length of stay, reoperation, readmission or mortality. R0 rate was 100% for resected patients. Post-operative 90-day mortality was 1.1%. Median overall survival of resected patients was longer than in non-resected patients (25.9 vs. 14.8 months, p = 0.01), while AR had comparable overall survival to SR (19.7 vs. 28.4 months, p = 0.41). Conclusions: Patients with non-progressive stage 3 PDAC after NAT should be considered for pancreas resection. AR had comparable clinical and oncologic outcomes to SR. Resection may offer a survival advantage over non-surgical therapy alone, and AR should be considered if required to obtain a negative resection margin.