Pancreatic Metastasectomy for Secondary Malignancy of the Pancreas: A Single-institution Experience

Metastasis to the pancreas is rare, and the benefit of resection for secondary pancreatic cancer is poorly defined. Furthermore, there are no guidelines for pancreatic metastasectomy in such patients. The purpose of this study was to discuss our experience with the operative management of secondary pancreatic cancer.

This retrospective study included 76 patients who underwent pancreatic metastasectomy for secondary pancreatic cancer between January 2000 and December 2020 at Samsung Medical Center, Seoul, Republic of Korea.

Among the study subjects, 44 underwent distal pancreatectomy, 21 pancreaticoduodenectomy, 5 total pancreatectomy, and 6 enucleation or wedge resection for metastasis. The overall survival (OS) and recurrence-free survival (RFS) were higher in the patients with RCC than in patients with other malignancies (p=0.004 and p=0.051, respectively). Statistically significant differences were not observed in OS and RFS between patients with right RCC (rRCC) or left RCC (lRCC; p=0.523 and p=0.586, respectively).

Pancreatic metastasectomy may offer promising outcomes regarding curative intent in instances of secondary pancreatic metastasis, particularly in the context of RCC. However, regarding the side of primary RCC, no statistically significant differences were found in OS and RFS between rRCC and lRCC.