Resection of cancer of the body and tail of the pancreas

• Published in: Hepato-gastroenterology Vol. 50; no. 50; p. 563
• Main Authors: Burcharth, Flemming, Trillingsgaard, Jesper, Olsen, Soren D, Moesgaard, Flemming, Federspiel, Birgitte, Struckmann, Jan R
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Greece 01.03.2003
• Subjects: Aged; Carcinoma, Pancreatic Ductal - mortality; Carcinoma, Pancreatic Ductal - pathology; Carcinoma, Pancreatic Ductal - surgery; Female; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Neoplasm Recurrence, Local; Pancreatectomy - methods; Pancreatic Neoplasms - mortality; Pancreatic Neoplasms - pathology; Pancreatic Neoplasms - surgery; Survival Analysis
• ISSN: 0172-6390

To report our results of resection of cancer in the body and tail of the pancreas and review the literature. Thirteen patients with a median age of 62 years with cancer of the body and/or tail of the pancreas. The diagnosis was made by ultrasonography, computed tomography, endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography and angiography. Eleven patients had distal or subtotal pancreatectomy and two patients total pancreatectomy. The surgical procedure included extensive dissection of lymph nodes and the connective tissue in the peripancreatic region. Main outcome measures were postoperative morbidity and mortality, median and 5-year survival rates. Ten of the resections were considered to be curative. Postoperative complications occurred in seven patients and one patient died in the postoperative period. The median survival time of operative survivors was 392 days. Two patients survived five years, and one was alive ten years after surgery. Eight patients died of recurrence. Long-term survival may be achieved in a quarter of the resectable patients.