Long-term survival after multimodality treatment for resectable pancreatic cancer

The prognosis of pancreatic adenocarcinoma after radical pancreatectomy is poor, especially in advanced-stage disease.

To determine the survival rates and evaluate the effectiveness of multimodality treatment for advanced pancreatic cancer.

From November 1983 to January 1993, 30 patients with pancreatic adenocarcinoma including 9 with carcinoma of the body and tail were treated by a multimodal approach consisting of extended pancreatectomy, intraoperative radiotherapy (IORT), and hepatic artery or portal vein infusion of mitomycin C (MMC) followed by systemic bolus injection. All surviving patients were followed for more than 8 yr and survival rates were calculated by the Kaplan-Meier method.

There were no operative or hospital deaths. Eight patients survived for more than 5 yr, 3 of whom survived more than 10 yr. The 5-yr survival rate for 27 patients excluding 3 with metastasis to the liver, peritoneum, or lung was 31%, with a median survival of 31.1 mo. Among them, the 1-, 3-, and 5-yr survival rates for 19 patients with regional nodal metastasis were 95, 50, and 28%, respectively, with a median survival of 36.0 mo.

The multimodality treatment combined with IORT and MMC chemotherapy appeared to have a benefit for prognosis of advanced pancreatic adenocarcinoma.