Surgical concepts for therapy of pancreatic neoplasms

Surgical treatment of pancreatic malignomas has improved dramatically over the past decades, which is illustrated by the decrease in perioperative mortality to 1%-2%. This has made it possible to widen the indication for pancreatic resection and the extent of the surgical intervention. Experience with pancreatic resection for neoplasms at our center using standard surgical techniques during the last decade is reviewed, with special focus on the cases with partial resection of the portal vein. Perioperative morbidity has decreased below 5% and 5-year survival rates reach 60% for stage I tumors and 15%-25% for stage II and III tumors. The authors conclude that surgical therapy for pancreatic neoplasms is safe and yields a considerably higher quality of life for the patient and therefore should be considered in all patients with this disease entity.