Biliary Tract and Pancreas: Survival and Recurrence Pattern after Curative Resection of Pancreatic Cancer

Whang, Young Woong; Jang, Hyeock Jae; Lee, Joon Kue; Seo, Jeong Hun; Park, Young Soo; Lee, Jin Hyon; Lee, Sei Joon; Lee, Jun Pyo; Song, Si Young; Chung, Jae Bock; Kang, Jn Kyung

Abstract

BACKGROUND/AIMS: The only hope for the cure of pancreatic adenocarcinoma is curative resection. However, the rate of recurrence after curative resection is higher than 50%. The aim, of this study were to analyze survival and the factors influencing survival and to evaluate the recurrence rate and pattern after curative resection of pancreatic adenocarcinoma.
METHODS
The records of 250 patients who were diagnosed as pancreatic cancer were reviewed retrospectively. We classified the patients into 3 groups (curative resection, non-curative resection, and conservative treatment) and analyzed the factors influencing survival, recurrence rate, and recurrence pattern after curative resection.
RESULTS
Curative resection were performed in 31 (12.4%) of 250 cases. The patients with curative resection was significantly prolonged median survival time than those without non-curative resection or with conservative treatment. The factors influencing survival rate after curative resection were age, lymph node involvement, and disease status. Twenty-five of the 31 cases with curative resection had recurrences after 10 months. Local retroperitoneal recurrence was 69%. Liver metastasis and lymph node metastasis were occurred in 61% and 54%, respectively.
CONCLUSIONS
The survival time of the patients with pancreatic adenocarcinoma was prolonged in the cases of curative resection compared with the cases of non-curative resection or conservative treatment. However, most cases after curative resection showed recurrence. Thus, early diagnosis and early treatment should be needed to prolong the survival time of the patients with pancreatic adenocarcinoma.