Intestinal autotransplantation:the next level of complexity in locally advanced pancreatic cancer

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma(PDAC)remains a devastating disease,and selecting patients who might benefit from complex arterial resection continues to be a challenge.However,in the era of modern multimodal treatments,surgery for pancreatic cancer has become increasingly safe.Neoadjuvant chemotherapy regimens such as modified-FOLFIRINOX(mFOLFIRINOX)and nab-paclitaxel/gemcitabine are effective in a significant proportion of patients.

A critical review of pancreatectomy with concomitant superior mesenteric artery resection and intestinal autotransplantation

We have read with great interest the study by Liang et al.addressing the role of radical resection combined with intestinal autotransplantation for locally advanced pancreatic cancer after neoadjuvant therapy(1).The study may attract the attention of the pancreato-biliary oncological and surgical community.

Intestinal autotransplantation

Most abdominal neoplasms involving the root of the superior mesenteric artery and/or celiac artery are difficult to manage with conventional operative techniques because of limited intestinal ischemia times and poor accessibility to the tumor region.Ex vivo surgery followed by intestinal autotransplantation(IATx)is a relatively novel surgical strategy to offer chances for complete resection in such hopeless circumstances.This review aims to assess potential surgical indications,operative techniques and clinical outcomes after IATx.Currently the main indications reported for IATx broadly include pancreatic,mesenteric and retroperitoneal neoplasms closely involving the superior mesenteric vessels.The preliminary results show that radical resection can be effectively achieved in carefully selective patients.Although perioperative morbidity and mortality are relatively high,there are several long-term survivors,particularly after complete resection of benign and low-grade tumor.Early tumor recurrence,however,remains a major problem in patients with high-grade tumor,particularly pancreatic ductal carcinoma.In conclusion,IATx allows patients with selected abdominal neoplasms involving themajormesenteric vessels to be completely resected.However,this aggressive approach is associated with a considerable operative risk,and should only be performed at experienced centers.Additional and adjunctive treatment therapies are required to improve the efficacy of this treatment.

Vascular reconstruction of segmental intestinal grafts using autologous internal iliac vessels

Background The aim of this study was to assess whether the autologous internal iliac artery and vein could be used as an interpositional graft for vascular reconstruction in segmental intestinal allografts and autografts.Methods Thirty-four intestinal transplants(19 living-related allografts and 15 autografts)were conducted in our programs between January 2011 and January 2019.Patient characteristics,type of vascular reconstruction,and post-operative complications were reviewed.Results There were 20 males and 14 females with a median age of 35 years.Of 34 grafts,22(64.7%)(11 allografts and 11 autografts)were revascularized using the autologous internal iliac artery and vein for reconstruction.Vascular reconstruction on the back table took 2166min to complete.Both total operative time and cold ischemia time tended to be longer in the vascular-reconstruction group than in the direct-anastomosis group(5306226 vs 4406116 and 159649 vs 125666 min,respectively),but these differences were not significant.The incidence of vascular thrombosis tended to be higher in the direct-anastomosis group than in the vascular-reconstruction group(16.7%vs 0%,P=0.118).At a median follow-up of 36.9 months,no stenosis or pseudoaneurysms developed.In 19 allografts,acute rejection occurred in 4(21.1%)and chronic rejection occurred in 1(5.2%).Conclusions Our results indicate that the use of an autologous internal iliac interposition graft greatly facilitates intestinal graft implantation and minimizes the risk of vascular complications.