Survival in 1001 patients with carcinoma of the pancreas

Among 1001 patients with carcinoma of the pancreas, 23 of 912 patients with exocrine carcinomas, 10 of 46 with ampullary carcinomas, and 21 of 43 with malignant islet cell tumors survived 3 years. Of the survivors with exocrine cancers, there were nine of 97 patients who had curative operation, two had had palliative resections only, and one was an incidental microfocal carcinoma; in the remaining 11 patients a histologic origin in the pancreas was not established. Preoperatively suspected and histologically proven 3-year survivors included six patients with ductal adenocarcinomas, three patients with mucinous cystadenocarcinomas, one patient with acinic cell carcinoma, and one patient with microadenocarcinoma. Only two patients can be considered cured. Tumor size and lymph node status did not correlate with survival. Cystadenocarcinomas comprised 1% of cases but one third of 3-year survivors. Long-term survival in histologically confirmed pancreatic carcinoma is a rare event that cannot be predicted in the individual case.