[Criteria for resectability of pancreatic cancer and postoperative imaging]

By improving the techniques of pancreatic surgery, the mortality and morbidity for pancreatic carcinoma could be significantly reduced. For radiologists a profound knowledge of the surgical techniques is of decisive importance. Based on this knowledge postoperative complications can be reliably uncovered and local recurrences can be detected at an early stage. The complications resulting from pancreatic surgery can be severe and often necessitate a radiological intervention. As pancreatic cancer itself is a severe disease with a poor 5‑year survival, which can only be improved by an R0 resection, it is crucial to identify using imaging those patients who are primarily operable or who can potentially achieve an operable condition through neoadjuvant chemotherapy (borderline) and inoperable patients to avoid postoperative complications which would additionally weaken them and result in unnecessary delays in initiating palliative therapy. Thus, familiarity with the clinical criteria of resectability and also inoperability in pancreatic cancer nowadays represents an essential basic knowledge for every oncological radiologist.