Surgical Strategy and Outcome in Patients Undergoing Pancreaticoduodenectomy After Gastric Resection: A Three-Center Experience with 39 Patients.

BACKGROUND: Stomach cancer is the second most commonly diagnosed cancer in Korea. Although the long-term survival outcome has improved, secondary primary tumors from periampullary regions are increasing inevitably and pancreaticoduodenectomy (PD) following gastrectomy is challenging. This study evaluates the surgical outcomes of PD following gastrectomy and suggests the optimum method for reconstruction. METHODS: Patients who underwent curative PD with a history of gastric resection between 2005 and 2015 were assessed retrospectively. PD was performed according to the standard fashion, with the aim of creating a new pancreaticobiliary limb with sufficient length (40-50 cm). Different reconstructive methods were employed during PD according to the previous gastrectomy type. RESULTS: A total of 3064 patients underwent PD, 39 of whom had previous gastrectomies including 12 with Billroth I gastrectomy, 20 with Billroth II gastrectomy, and seven patients with total gastrectomy (TG). In patients with Billroth I gastrectomy, all of the previous gastroduodenostomy site was resected for specimen retrieval. All previous esophagojejunostomy site was preserved in seven patients who had TG. In the Billroth II patients, the gastrojejunostomy site was preserved in 17 patients. Re-operation after PD was required in two patients, and 14 patients (36 %) developed pancreatic fistula and five (13 %) of grade B or higher. CONCLUSIONS: Our study has been the largest report so far of PD following gastric resection, and we were able to confirm the safety and the feasibility of PD procedure. We therefore suggest standardizing the reconstruction method for PD following gastrectomy based on the type of previous gastrectomy.

Prevalence analysis of de novo hepatic steatosis following pylorus-preserving pancreaticoduodenectomy.

BACKGROUND: Prevalence of hepatic steatosis following pylorus-preserving pancreaticoduodenectomy (PPPD) is high. This study intended to reveal the prevalence and patterns of de novo hepatic steatosis following PPPD. METHODS: We investigated postoperative de novo hepatic steatosis following PPPD (n = 101) with a control group of bile duct resection (BDR) (n = 54). RESULTS: At postoperative 1 year, hepatic steatosis occurred in 21 of 82 patients (25.6%) of PPPD group and in 2 of 47 patients (4.3%) of BDR group (p = 0.001). Thereafter, at 2 to 5 years, a high prevalence of hepatic steatosis persisted in the PPPD group, but no further occurrence developed in BDR group. Once steatosis developed, it persisted until the end of the study period or patient death. Five-year cumulative incidence of hepatic steatosis was 26.7% in the PPPD group and 3.7% in BDR group (p < 0.001). Univariate analyses showed that patient sex, age, body mass index, blood lipid profile, recurrence of tumor, and diabetes did not have significant influence on the development of hepatic steatosis following PPPD. CONCLUSIONS: De novo hepatic steatosis may develop in a not negligible proportion of patients undergone PPPD. Multicenter studies with a high number of patients are needed to elucidate its pathogenesis and to find effective treatment for pancreaticoduodenectomy-associated hepatic steatosis.

Treatment guidelines for branch duct type intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms of the pancreas: when can we operate or observe?

BACKGROUND: The objectives of this study were to investigate the clinicopathological features of branch intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasm (IPMN) and to determine safe criteria for its observation. Most clinicians agree that surgical resection is required to treat main duct-type IPMN because of its high malignancy rate. However, no definite treatment guideline (with respect to surgery or observation) has been issued on the management of branch duct type IPMN. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the clinicopathological data of 138 patients who underwent operations for IPMN between 1993 and 2006 at five institutes in Korea. RESULTS: Of 138 patients (mean age, 60.6 years; 87 men, 51 women), 76 underwent pancreatoduodenectomy, 39 distal pancreatectomy, 4 total pancreatectomy, and 20 limited pancreatic resection. There were 112 benign cases: 47 adenoma, 63 borderline cases, and 26 malignant cases, with 9 of these being noninvasive and 17 invasive. By univariate analysis, tumor size and the presence of a mural nodule were identified as meaningful predictors of malignancy. By receiver operating characteristic curve analysis, a tumor size of >2 cm was found to be the most valuable predictor of malignancy. When cases were classified according to tumor size and the presence of a mural nodule, the malignancy rate for a tumor 2 cm, >25%. CONCLUSIONS: Many branch duct IPMNs are malignant. Surgical treatment is recommended, except in cases that are strongly suspected to be benign or cases that present a high operative risk. Observation is only recommended in patients with a tumor size of

Multicenter analysis of clinicopathologic features of intraductal papillary mucinous tumor of the pancreas: is it possible to predict the malignancy before surgery?

BACKGROUND: Despite recently increasing numbers of reports on intraductal papillary mucinous tumors (IPMTs), difficulties still remain in terms of diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis. The purpose of this multicenter study was to evaluate the clinicopathologic features of IPMT in Korea and to suggest predictive criteria for malignancy in IPMT. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the clinicopathologic data of 208 patients who underwent operations for IPMT between 1993 and 2002 at 28 institutes in Korea. RESULTS: Of the 208 patients (mean age, 61 years), 147 were men and 61 were women. A total of 124 patients underwent pancreatoduodenectomy, 42 underwent distal pancreatectomy, 17 underwent total pancreatectomy, and 25 underwent limited pancreatic resection. There were 128 benign cases (adenoma, n = 62; borderline, n = 66) and 80 malignant cases (noninvasive, n = 29; invasive, n = 51). A significant difference in 5-year survival was observed between the benign and malignant groups (92.6% vs. 65.3%; P = .006). Of the six factors (age, location, duct dilatation, mural nodule, main duct type, and tumor size) that showed statistical differences by univariate analysis between the benign and malignant groups, three were significant by multivariate analysis--namely, mural nodule (P = .009), tumor size (P = .023), and a dilated duct size (P = .010). CONCLUSIONS: A significant proportion of IPMTs are malignant, although the overall prognosis of IPMT is superior to that of ordinary pancreatic cancer. Radical surgery is recommended for IPMT with the predictors of malignancy: mural nodule, tumor size (> or =30 mm), and dilated duct size (> or =12 mm).

IL-6 protects pancreatic islet beta cells from pro-inflammatory cytokines-induced cell death and functional impairment in vitro and in vivo.

Protection of pancreatic islet beta cells from pro-inflammatory cytokines-induced cell death and functional impairment is a key issue in developing therapeutic interventions of type 1 diabetes mellitus including islet transplantation. The effects of IL-6 on the protection of beta cells in vitro and in vivo were examined. Freshly isolated islets or MIN6 beta cells, when pre-incubated with IL-6, showed significantly higher viabilities measured by MTT assay and FACS analysis of PI stained cells against pro-apoptotic signaling delivered by IL-1beta, TNF-alpha and IFN-gamma. Insulin secretory function was also significantly protected in static culture with glucose and KCl stimulation. In vivo assessment using marginal mass syngeneic islet transplantation in mouse model revealed IL-6 conferred significantly better blood glucose control and graft survival rate over 50 days. Conclusively, IL-6 protects pancreatic islets or beta-cells from inflammatory cytokines-induced cell death and functional impairment both in vitro and in vivo. This strategy could be exploited in the clinical setting to maintain functional islet mass.