An Improved Staging System for Locally Advanced Pancreatic Cancer: A Critical Need in the Multidisciplinary Era

Locally-advanced pancreatic cancer (LAPC) is traditionally considered stage III unresectable disease. Advances in induction systemic therapy regimens, surgical technique, and perioperative care have led to successful resection of an increasing number of these tumors with reasonable perioperative outcomes and disease-free intervals. Certain anatomic characteristics that meet criteria for locally-advanced disease, however, are more likely to result in a successful surgical outcome.

A practical and consistent system is needed to communicate such nuance between surgical and nonsurgical oncologists for optimal treatment planning and to improve recording for cancer registries and research studies.

The present study proposes a novel subclassification system for stage III pancreatic cancers based on their pattern of vascular involvement and examines the current evidence for resection in each scenario. Introducing needed detail into the current catch-all stage III categorization will help to direct patient referrals and increase the body of knowledge about the variable presentations of this complex malignancy.

This proposed staging revision for LAPC is designed to convey more actionable tumor descriptions for treating oncologists, clinical trial eligibility, and surgical patient selection in the era of effective induction systemic therapy.