Carcinoma of the ampulla of Vater

We reviewed our experience with 69 patients with carcinoma of the ampulla of Vater admitted to the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, from October 1983 to October 1990. Of the 69 patients, 66 were explored and 55 underwent resection (83 percent resectability). The median length of survival for the 55 patients who underwent resection was 51 months, compared with eight months for the 14 patients who did not undergo resection (p = 0.000004). Of the variables evaluated, only resectability was a statistically significant predictor of survival. Positive lymph nodes in 17 of 55 patients who underwent resection were not predictive of long term survival.