Borderline resectable pancreatic cancer and vascular resections in the era of neoadjuvant therapy

While pancreatic cancer is still characterized by early systemic spread and poor outcomes,the treatment of this disease has changed significantly in recent years due to major advancements in systemic therapy and advanced surgical techniques.Broader use of effective neoadjuvant approaches combined with aggressive surgical operations within a multidisciplinary setting has improved outcomes.Borderline resectable pancreatic cancer is characterized by tumor vascular invasion,and is a setting where the combination of potent neoadjuvant chemotherapy and aggressive surgical methods,including vascular resections and reconstructions,shows its full potential.Hopefully,this will lead to improved local control and curative treatment in a number of patients with this aggressive malignancy.

Combined vascular resection and analysis of prognostic factors for hilar cholangiocarcinoma

BACKGROUND： Hilar cholangiocarcinoma （HCCA） is a devastating malignancy arising from the bifurcation of the hepatic duct, whether combined vascular resection benefits HCCA patients is controversial. This study was undertaken to assess the effect of combined vascular resection in HCCA patients and to analyze the prognostic factors.

Effect of hepatic artery resection and reconstruction on the prognosis of patients with advanced hilar cholangiocarcinoma

BACKGROUND Hilar cholangiocarcinoma(HC)is a good adaptation certificate of hepatic arterectomy,and hepatic arterectomy is conductive to the radical resection of cholangiocarcinoma,which simplifies the operation and helps with a combined resection of the peripheral portal tissue.With continuous development of surgical techniques,especially microsurgical technique,vascular invasion is no longer a contraindication to surgery in the past 10 years.However,hepatic artery reconstruction after hepatic arterectomy has been performed to treat liver tumor in many centers with better results,but it is rarely applied in advanced HC.AIM To determine the prognosis of patients with advanced HC after hepatic artery resection and reconstruction.METHODS A total of 98 patients with HC who underwent radical operation in our hospital were selected for this retrospective analysis.According to whether the patients underwent hepatic artery resection and reconstruction or not,they were divided into reconstruction(n=40)and control(n=58)groups.The traumatic indices,surgical resection margin,liver function tests before and after the operation,and surgical complications were compared between the two groups.RESULTS Operation time,blood loss,hospital stay,and gastrointestinal function recovery time were higher in the reconstruction group than in the control group(P<0.05);The R0 resection rates were 90.00%and 72.41%in the reconstruction and control groups,respectively(P<0.05).Serum alanine aminotransferase was lower in the reconstruction group on day one and three postoperatively,whereas serum aspartate aminotransferase was lower on the third day(P<0.05).Preoperatively,the Karnofsky performance status scores were similar between the groups(P>0.05),but was higher in the reconstruction group(P<0.05)two weeks postoperatively.There was no difference in the complication rate between the two groups(27.50%vs 32.67%,P>0.05).Two-year survival rate(42.50%vs 39.66%)and two-year survival time(22.0 mo vs 23.0 mo)were similar between the groups(P>0.05).CONCLUSION Radical surgery combined with reconstruction after hepatic artery resection improves R0 resection rate and reduces postoperative liver injury in advanced HC.However,the operation is difficult and the effect on survival time is not clear.

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.

Assessment of clinical outcomes of advanced hilar cholangiocarcinoma

Background: Low resectability and poor survival outcome are common for hilar cholangiocarcinoma(HCCA), especially in advanced stages. The present study was to assess the clinical outcome of advanced HCCA, focusing on therapeutic modalities, survival analysis and prognostic assessment.Methods: Clinical data of 176 advanced HCCA patients who had been treated in our hospital between January 2013 and December 2015 were analyzed retrospectively. Prognostic effects of clinicopathological factors were explored by univariate and multivariate analysis. Survival predictors were evaluated by the receiver operating characteristic(ROC) curve.Results: The 3-year overall survival rate was 13% for patients with advanced HCCA. Preoperative total bilirubin(P = 0.009), hepatic artery invasion(P = 0.014) and treatment modalities(P = 0.020) were independent prognostic factors on overall survival. A model combining these independent prognostic factors(area under ROC curve: 0.748; 95% CI: 0.678–0.811; sensitivity: 82.3%, specificity: 53.5%) was highly predictive of tumor death. After R0 resection, the 3-year overall survival was up to 38%. Preoperative total bilirubin was still an independent negative factor, but not for hepatic artery invasion.Conclusions: Surgery is still the best treatment for advanced HCCA. Preoperative biliary drainage should be performed in highly-jaundiced patients to improve survival. Prediction of survival is improved significantly by a model that incorporates preoperative total bilirubin, hepatic artery invasion and treatment modalities.

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.