Intraoperative radiotherapy vs concurrent chemoradiotherapy in the treatment of patients with locally advanced pancreatic cancer.

PURPOSE: The purpose of the multi-institutional retrospective study was to evaluate whether intraoperative radiotherapy (IORT) has advantages in the treatment of patients with locally advanced pancreatic cancer (LAPC) compared with concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT). PATIENTS AND METHODS: A total of 103 patients with LAPC whom was treated with IORT (Arm A; n = 50) or CCRT (Arm B; n = 53) from 2015.6 to 2016.7 were retrospectively identified. Data on feasibility, toxicity, and overall survival (OS) were evaluated. RESULTS: Most factors of the two cohorts were similar. The severe adverse events (grade 3 and 4) patients in Arm B were higher than patients in Arm A (34% vs 0%). Disease progression was noted in 38 patients (76%) in Arm A and 37 patients (69.8%) in Arm B. The median survival of patients in Arm A and B were 15.3 months (95% CI, 13.0-17.6 months) and 13.8 months (95% CI, 11.0-16.6 months), respectively. The 1-year survival rate were 66.3% in Arm A (95% CI, 52.3%-80.2%) and 60.9% in Arm B (95% CI, 46.4%-75.4%). There was no significant difference in OS between patients treated with IORT and with CCRT (p = 0.458). CONCLUSION: Our results demonstrated that patients with LAPC treated with IORT showed fewer adverse events, less treatment time, and high feasibility compared to CCRT. Although, IORT has no advantages in survival and tumor control compared with CCRT.

Resection of the main trunk of the superior mesenteric vein without reconstruction during surgery for giant pancreatic mucinous cystadenoma: A case report.

Pancreatic tumors, with peri-pancreatic main vascular invasion, especially the superior mesenteric vein (SMV) or the portal vein, are very common. In some cases, vascular resection and reconstruction are required for complete resection of pancreatic tumors. However, the optimum surgical method for venous management is controversial. Resection of the SMV without reconstruction during surgery for pancreatic tumors is rarely reported. Here we present the case of a 58-year-old woman with a giant pancreatic mucinous cystadenoma adhering to the SMV, who underwent an en bloc tumor resection, including the main trunk of the SMV and the spleen. No venous reconstruction was performed during surgery. No ischemic changes occurred in the bowel. The presence of several well-developed collateral vessels was shown by 3-dimensional computed tomography examination. The patient had an uneventful postoperative period and was discharged. This case indicated that the main trunk of the SMV can be resected without venous reconstruction if adequate collateralization has formed.

Correlation between metastatic lymph node ratio and prognosis in patients with extrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma.

AIM: To investigate the prognostic value of metastatic lymph node ratio (MLNR) in extrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ECC) patients undergoing radical resection. METHODS: Seventy-eight patients with ECC were enrolled. Associations between various clinicopathologic factors and prognosis were investigated by Kaplan-Meier analyses. The Cox proportional-hazards model was used for multivariate survival analysis. RESULTS: The overall three- and five-year survival rates were 47.26% and 23.99%, respectively. MLNR of 0, 0-0.2, 0.2-0.5, and > 0.5 corresponded to five-year survival rates of 28.59%, 21.60%, 18.84%, and 10.03%, respectively. Univariate analysis showed that degree of tumor differentiation, lymph node metastasis, MLNR, tumor-node-metastasis (TNM) stage, and margin status were closely associated with postoperative survival in ECC patients (P < 0.05). Multivariate analysis showed that MLNR and TNM stage were independent prognostic factors after pancreaticoduodenectomy (HR = 2.13, 95%CI: 1.45-3.11; P < 0.01; and HR = 1.97, 95%CI: 1.17-3.31; P = 0.01, respectively). The median survival time for MLNR > 0.5, 0.2-0.5, 0-0.2, and 0 was 15 mo, 24 mo, 23 mo, and 35.5 mo, respectively. There were statistical differences in survival time between patients with different MLNR (χ(2) = 15.38; P < 0.01). CONCLUSION: MLNR is an independent prognostic factor for ECC patients after radical resection and is useful for predicting postoperative survival.