Management of borderline resectable pancreatic cancer

Borderline resectable pancreatic cancer is an emerging stage of disease defined by computed tomogrpahy criteria, patient (Katz type B), or disease characteristics (Katz type C). These patients are particularly well suited to a surgery-last strategy with induction therapy consisting of chemotherapy (gemcitabine alone or in combination) followed by chemoradiation. With appropriate selection and preoperative planning, many patients with borderline resectable disease derive clinical benefit from multimodality therapy. The use of a standardized system for the staging of localized pancreatic cancer avoids indecision and allows for the optimal treatment of all patients guided by the extent of their disease. In this article, 2 case reports are presented, and the term borderline resectable pancreatic cancer is discussed. The advantages of neoadjuvant therapy and surgery are also discussed.