Surgery for ampullary tumors: a study of 238 patients

Abstract

Objective To compare the various surgical procedures commonly used to treat ampullary neoplasms.Methods The clinical data of 238 patients with ampullary tumor who were admitted to the Peking Union Hospital from January 1995 to June 2012 were retrospectively analyzed.There were 51 patients with benign ampullary adenomas (34 patients treated with local tumor resection,17 patients treated with pancreaticoduodenectomy) and 187 patients with ampullary cancer (25 patients treated with ampulla local excision,162 patients treated with pancreaticoduodenectomy).Results For both ampullary cancer and benign tumor,the group of patients who received local excision was superior to the group of patients who received pancreaticoduodenectomy in operative time,blood loss,hospital stay,and incidence of postoperative complications (all P＜0.05).For benign ampullary adenomas,there were no significant differences in postoperative median survival time between local resection and pancreaticoduodenectomy (P=0.071,x2 =2.003).For stage T1 or T2 ampullary cancer,there was also no significant difference in the postoperative median survival time (P=0.054,x2=3.163).However,the postoperative median survival time of the pancreaticoduodenectomy group was significantly longer than that of the local resection group for patients with stage T3 or T4 ampullary cancer (P=0.041,x2 =6.309).Conclusions Ampullary tumors are characterized by relatively good response to treatment.The results suggested that for patients with benign ampullary adenomas and stage T1 or T2 of ampullary cancer,local resection is a good surgical procedure.For patients with ampullary cancer at more advanced stages (T3 or T4),pancreaticoduodenectomy is the first choice of therapy. Key words: Neoplasms; Ampulla of vater; Pancreaticoduodenectomy