Impact on Long-term Survival of a Standardized Histopathological Protocol on the R1 Incidence in Pancreatoduodenectomy for Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma.

Background: Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is a pathology with a very poor prognostic, the only curative treatment option being surgery, in association with chemotherapy. This study aims to assess the influence that the use of a standardized pathology report after a pancreaticoduodenectomy (PD) has on the R1 margins rate and the impact that this has on long term survival. Material and Methods: We included 116 patients admitted to the Regional Institute of Gastroenterology and Hepatology Prof. Dr. O. Fodor Cluj Napoca, who underwent PD for PDAC (Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma) between January 2012 and May 2017. We divided them in two groups: 59 patients for which a nonstandardized histopathological protocol was used and 57 patients for which a standardized protocol was implemented. We considered a margin to be R1 when there were tumor cells at ¤ 1 mm from the resection margin. Results: The R1 percentage in the first group of patients was of 39%, while the R1 resection rate in the second group was of 68.4%. The median survival rate was similar in the two groups, with no statistically significant difference between them, but in the prospective study when comparing R0 vs R1 margins there was a statistically differences in 5 year OS with a p-value = 0.03. Conclusion: The use of a standardized pathology report reveals a significant increase in R1 resection rates. Also study revealed not only increasing R1 incidence when using a standardized histopathology report, but also that those margins (R1) playing a determinant role in 5-year OS. The mesopancreas is the most frequently R1 resection margin.

Duodenopancreatectomy for PDAC Associated with MALS: A Case Report.

Introduction: Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is an aggressive form of pancreatic malignancy which occurs in over 90% of such cases. Pancreaticoduodenectomy (PD) is used with a curative purpose for localized PDAC. Case presentation: A 68-year-old woman presented to our service through a transfer from another service, to be investigated and treated for a head of the pancreas tumor in a tertiary referral hospital. After a complete clinical and paraclinical evaluation, the patient was diagnosed with a PDAC and also with a median arcuate ligament syndrome (MALS). The surgical treatment was considered adequate, therefore, the patient underwent a PD with transmesocolic hepaticojejunostomy, pancreaticogastric anastomosis, precolic end-to-side gastrojejunostomy, Witzel jejunostomy and with the help of the cardiovascular surgery team from the Heart Institute, Cluj- Napoca, an aortohepatic bypass using saphenous vein graft was performed. Conclusion: Bypass was essential because the blood flow in the proper hepatic artery was not restored after sectioning the median arcuate ligament and clamping the gastroduodenal artery. The patient had a favorable outcome. The particularity of the present case consists of the complete occlusion of the celiac trunk by MALS and the total vascularization of the supramesocolic organs due to the superior mesenteric artery through the gastroduodenal artery.

Pancreatico-Duodenectomy for Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma: from Artery-First Approaches toTRIANGLE Operation.

Pancreatico-duodenectomy (PD) is the single hope for long-term survival in a patient with pancreatic head ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). Unfortunately, even after curative intent PD, the long-term survival of patients with PDAC remains under expectations, with high recurrence rates, including the loco-regional ones. Positive resection margins after resection of PDAC are frequent, and they have a detrimental effect on both recurrence and long-term survival rates, particularly the R1 (direct) ones, toward the mesopancreas. In the last years, there were made increased efforts by surgeons to introduce in clinical practice several technical refinements to the standard technique of PD better to resect the tumor, including an accurate lymph node dissection, hoping to increase the rate of negative resection margins, to decrease local recurrence rates and to improve prognosis. Furthermore, to extend the number of patients with resectable disease, a few surgical techniques were also intended to convert to resectability the patients with the regional disease (i.e., anatomical borderline resectable and locally advanced PDAC) in the context of multimodal therapies, particularly neoadjuvant therapies. With this, we briefly discuss a few technical refinements addressing the resection time of PD, like the artery-first approaches and the Triangle operation. Both surgical techniques aim for better clearance of the retroperitoneal space for nerves, lymphatic nodes, and vessels, including total mesopancreas excision.

Venous Resections in Pancreatic Head Carcinoma - 15 Years Experience with Survival and Prognostic Factor Analysis.

Background: We present a comparative analysis of survival, complications and major risk factors in patients who underwent surgery for pancreatic head carcinoma. Methods: This is a single-centre retrospective study aimed to evaluate clinical, surgical and pathoanatomical features of 467 patients who underwent radical surgery for pancreatic head carcinoma between September 2004 and October 2019. The series includes 88 patients (18.8%) with venous resections for borderline resectable pancreatic adenocarcinoma. Results: The estimated median survival rates were statistically significant with 19.3 months in pancreatoduodenal venous resections (VR) and 26.9 months in pancreatoduodenal resections (PDR), respectively (p=0.047). On the other hand, one, three, and five-year survival rates of 46.6%, 17.6% and 8.3% in VR, and 53.6%, 20.8%, 14.9% in PDR were not statistically significant (p=0.13, 0.5 and 0.11 respectively). Survival rates comparison in PDR, VR, and palliative procedures (PP) between the three groups showed statistical significance (p 0.05). The clinically relevant postoperative complications in venous resections (13.6%) vs. 14.8% in PDR were not statistically significant (p=0.77). Postoperative bleeding and reoperation (p 0.05) are independent prognostic factors for worse outcomes. There was no statistically significant relationship between survival and presence of vascular invasion (p=0.581). Conclusions: When performed by experienced surgeons at specialized high-volume centres, pancreatoduodenal resections combined with venous resection and reconstruction are reliable and safe surgical procedures.

One Hundred Pancreatectomies with Venous Resection for Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma.

Introduction: Invasion of portal vein (PV)/ superior mesenteric vein (SMV) in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is no longer a contraindication for resection when reconstruction is technically feasible. However, the literature data reached conflicting conclusions regarding the early and long-term outcomes of patients with venous resection and pancreatectomies for PDAC. The study aims to present the outcomes in a large series of patients with pancreatectomies and associated PV/ SMV resection for PDAC, in a single center experience. Patients Methods: The data of 100 patients with pancreatectomies and PV and/ or SMV resection performed between 2002 and 2016 (February, 1st) were retrospectively analyzed from a prospectively maintained electronic database, which included 474 pancreatectomies for PDAC. Only patients with a final pathological diagnosis of PDAC were included in the present study. Results: Overall, 21.1% of patients with pancreatectomies for PDAC required a venous resection (100 patients out of 474 patients). Segmental resection was performed in 77 patients (out of 100 patients with pancreatectomies and venous resection - 77%), while 23 patients (23%) have had tangential venous resection. In the group of patients with segmental venous resection, reconstruction was made by end-to-end anastomosis in 53 patients (out of 77 patients - 68.8%), while in 24 patients (out of 77 patients - 31.2%) a graft interposition was necessary. Negative resections margins were obtained in 63 patients (63%). Histological tumor invasion of the resected vein was confirmed in 64 patients (64%). Postoperative complications occurred in 47 patients (47%), with severe complications (i.e., Dindo-Clavien grade III-V) in 19 patients (19%). Postoperative pancreatic fistulae, delayed gastric emptying and post-pancreatectomy hemorrhage rates were 9%, 20% and 15%, respectively. PV/ SMV thrombosis occurred in 5 patients (5%). The 90-day mortality rate in the group of patients with venous only resection, without any associated procedures, was 8%. Adjuvant treatment was performed in 63 patients (63%), while only 2 patients (2%) underwent neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Median follow-up time was 105 months (range, 3 - 186 months), with a median overall survival time of 13 months (range, 3 - 186 months). In the group of patients with negative resection margins, the median overall survival time was 16 months (range, 3 - 186 months). Conclusions: PV/ SMV resection during pancreatectomies for PDAC is technically feasible, and grafts are rarely required for venous reconstruction. However, venous resection is associated with high postoperative complications rates, and the mortality rate is not neglectable. The main goal of such complex procedure is to obtain negative resection margins, a situation associated with encouraging survival rates.

What is the Value of Total Mesopancreas Excision in Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma? Current Evidence of the Literature.

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is a disease with a grim prognosis. Pancreatectomy represents the single hope for long-term survival in a patient with PDAC. Recurrence is a common event after curative-intent surgery for PDAC, mainly related to incomplete removal at the site of resection margins; medial/ superior mesenteric margins are the most often positive. The concept of total mesopancreas excision (TMpE) in PDAC was proposed in analogy to the concept of total mesorectal excision for rectal cancer, to better control loco-regional recurrence. This paper aims to discuss the current evidence for the value of TMpE in PDAC.