Factors affecting overall survival in ductal adenocarcinoma of the pancreatic head. Experience of one center

Purpose. To identify major factors affecting the overall survival (OS). To select the cohort of patients with the best prognosis.

Materials and methods. A retrospective analysis included data of 268 patients, 128 men and 140 women, with median age of 59±10,53 (30 to 83) years. For multivariate analysis of survival, patients were selected who underwent pancreaticoduodenectomy (PD) for ductal adenocarcinoma of the pancreatic head.

Results. Our study demonstrated that histologically verified vascular invasion (detected only in 30 % of patients who underwent PD with resection of the major vessels) statistically significantly affected the OS. The increased CA19-9 level over 500 U / L (detected in 32,3 % of cases) is the factor that significantly worsens the OS. Patients with high grade adenocarcinoma have significantly better survival rates compared with patients who have moderately or poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma (p = 0.014; median 26 months, 95 % CI 4.4–47.6 versus median 17 months, 95 % CI 15–19, an median: 13 months, 95 % CI 5–21, respectively). Also, the use of adjuvant chemotherapy has a positive effect on long-term outcomes (p = 0.0001; median 26 months, 95 % CI 21.7–30.3 versus median 13 months, 95 % CI 11.3–14.7).

Conclusion. A well-differentiated tumor and the use of adjuvant chemotherapy significantly increase the OS of patients. Poorly differentiated tumor, CA19-9 level over 500 U / mL and the histologically confirmed vascular invasion significantly worsen the prognosis of these patients.

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