Treatment characteristics and outcomes of pure Acinar cell carcinoma of the pancreas - A multicentric European study on radically resected patients

Background: Acinar cell carcinomas (ACC) belong to the exocrine pancreatic malignancies. Due to their rarity, there is no consensus regarding treatment strategies for resectable ACC. Methods: This is a retrospective multicentric study of radically resected pure pancreatic ACC. Primary endpoints were overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS). Further endpoints were oncologic outcomes related to tumor stage and therapeutic protocols. Results: 59 patients (44 men) with a median age of 64 years were included. The median tumor size was 45.0 mm. 61.0% were pT3 (n = 36), nodal positivity rate was 37.3% (n = 22), and synchronous distant metastases were present in 10.1% of the patients (n = 6). 5-Years OS was 60.9% and median DFS 30 months. 24 out of 31 recurred systemically (n = 18 only systemic, n = 6 local and systemic). Regarding TNM-staging, only the N2-stage negatively influenced OS and DFS (p = 0.004, p = 0.001). Adjuvant treatment protocols (performed in 62.7%) did neither improve OS (p = 0.542) nor DFS (p = 0.159). In 9 cases, radical resection was achieved following neoadjuvant therapy. Discussion: Radical surgery is currently the mainstay for resectable ACC, even for limited metastatic disease. Novel (neo)adjuvant treatment strategies are needed, since current systemic therapies do not result in a clear survival benefit in the perioperative setting

Histopathologic predictors of survival and recurrence in resected ampullary adenocarcinoma

Objective: The aim of the study was to define histopathologic characteristics that independently predict overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS), in patients who underwent resection of an ampullary adenocarcinoma with curative intent. Summary Background Data: A broad range of survival rates have been described for adenocarcinoma of the ampulla of Vater, presumably due to morphological heterogeneity which is a result of the different epitheliums ampullary adenocarcinoma can arise from (intestinal or pancreaticobiliary). Large series with homogenous patient selection are scarce. Methods: A retrospective multicenter cohort analysis of patients who underwent pancreatoduodenectomy for ampullary adenocarcinoma in 9 European tertiary referral centers between February 2006 and December 2017 was performed. Collected data included demographics, histopathologic details, survival, and recurrence. OS and DFS analyses were performed using Kaplan–Meier curves and Cox proportional hazard models. Results: Overall, 887 patients were included, with a mean age of 66 ± 10 years. The median OS was 64 months with 1-, 3-, 5-, and 10-year OS rates of 89%, 63%, 52%, and 37%, respectively. Histopathologic subtype, differentiation grade, lymphovascular invasion, perineural invasion, T-stage, N-stage, resection margin, and adjuvant chemotherapy were correlated with OS and DFS. N-stage (HR = 3.30 [2.09–5.21]), perineural invasion (HR = 1.50 [1.01–2.23]), and adjuvant chemotherapy (HR = 0.69 [0.48–0.97]) were independent predictors of OS in multivariable analysis, whereas DFS was only adversely predicted by N-stage (HR = 2.65 [1.65–4.27]). Conclusions: Independent predictors of OS in resected ampullary cancer were N-stage, perineural invasion, and adjuvant chemotherapy. N-stage was the only predictor of DFS. These findings improve predicting survival and recurrence after resection of ampullary adenocarcinoma

Pancreatic Cancer in the Era of Neoadjuvant Therapy: A Narrative Overview

Pancreatic adenocarcinoma is an aggressive systemic disease with around 30% of patient presenting locally advanced disease at diagnosis and being not candidate to surgical resection. Pioneering experiences with neoadjuvant treatment for locally advanced pancreatic cancer (LAPC) were undertaken more than 25 years ago and this strategy kept on gaining consensus over time. In recent years two main breakthroughs have been done: first, clear definitions of resectable, borderline resectable and locally advanced unresectable disease were released, and, soon after, two different chemotherapy regimens (namely, FOLFIRINOX and Gemcitabine plus Nab-Paclitaxel) were introduced in the clinical practice for LAPC after their effectiveness in metastatic patients was demonstrated. This article reviews papers regarding the administration of neoadjuvant chemotherapy, with or without radiation therapy, published from 2011 through 2017 with particular significance been given to reported results in term of resection rates, complete resection (R0) rates and Overall Survival, and briefly summarizes recommendations provided by the most recent guidelines for the treatment of non-metastatic pancreatic cancer

Analysis and proceeding to full publication of abstracts presented at the Pancreas Club annual meeting

Introduction: The editorial fate of pancreatology conference abstracts has been scarcely defined. Objective: To examine the editorial fate of abstract presented at the Pancreas Club Annual Meeting (PC) and identify factors associated with successful publication. Methods: Abstracts presented at PC (2011-2013) were retrieved. Factors associated with full publication and post-publication impact were analyzed. Top publications were defined as those falling in the upper quartile of impact factor and citation distributions. To avoid lead-time bias, a search strategy limited to four years after each meeting was established. Results: Overall, 309/497 abstracts (62.2%) proceeded to full publication, after a median of 14 months. Multicenter status was the only factor independently associated with publication. The median impact factor of published manuscripts was 3.27, with a median of 13 citations/paper. Basic science and orally presented papers were independently associated with high-impact publication and high citation number, despite five of top-ten cited papers had been allocated to poster presentation. Conclusions: 62.2% of abstracts presented at the PC attained full publication, indicating a high meeting quality. Research works with the highest impact were frequently selected for podium presentation. However, several best-published papers were presented as posters. Our results may provide practical hints for quality promotion in pancreatology at a meeting level

Preoperative standardized phase angle at bioimpedance vector analysis predicts the outbreak of antimicrobial-resistant infections after major abdominal oncologic surgery. A prospective trial

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Anastomotic healing in a rat model of peritonitis after non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug administration.

The tissue inflammatory response can influence the outcome of anastomotic healing. Anastomotic leakage represents a dreadful complication after gastrointestinal surgery, in particular sepsis and intra-abdominal infections impair the restorative process of colic anastomoses. It has been debated whether the administration of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) is a risk factor for dehiscence, since many patients receive NSAIDs in the early postoperative period. Our aim was, for the first time, to analyze the morpho-functional effects of postoperative administration of two commonly used NSAIDs, Diclofenac and Ketorolac, on the healing process of colo-colic anastomoses constructed under condition of fecal peritonitis in a rat model. Sixty adult male rats underwent two surgical procedures: peritonitis induction and colo-colic anastomosis, and were divided into three groups: 20 rats received saline; 20 rats 4 mg/kg Diclofenac and 20 rats 5 mg/kg Ketorolac. We assessed anastomosis strength, morphological features of tissue wound healing, immunohistochemical metalloproteinase 9 (MMP9) expression and collagen deposition and content by Sirius red staining and hydroxyproline level. We found no significant difference in bursting pressure, collagen content and organization and morphological features between the groups, except a significantly reduced presence of inflammatory cells and MMP9 expression in the groups treated with NSAIDs. Our findings showed that Diclofenac and Ketorolac administration did not affect post-surgical healing and did not increase the leakage risk of colo-colic anastomoses during peritonitis

Resection to Exploration Ratios and Associated Outcomes in Patients with Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma

Objective: To investigate resection/exploration ratios (RER), reasons for omission of pancreatectomy, and survival outcomes in patients undergoing surgical exploration with resection intent for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). Summary background data: While surgical indications for PDAC are expanding, information about intraoperative attrition is lacking. Methods: The RER was calculated in PDAC patients undergoing exploration from 2018 through 2020. Factors associated with uncompleted resection and survival were identified using multivariable models. Results: In total, 681 patients were included. Upfront explorations were 296 (43.7%), and post-neoadjuvant explorations were 385 (56.3%). The overall RER was 89.7% (90.5% in the upfront setting and 89.1% post-neoadjuvant treatment). In this latter subgroup, the RER decreased from 96.1% in resectable disease to 86.6% in borderline resectable disease and 61.9% in locally advanced disease. The primary reasons for uncompleted resection were occult metastases in presumed resectable/borderline resectable disease (without difference between upfront and post-neoadjuvant operations) and local unresectability in locally advanced disease. No preoperative variable was associated with uncompleted resection in upfront explorations, while anatomical staging informed the likelihood of surgical attrition following neoadjuvant treatment. Uncompleted resection was invariably associated with a median survival of around one year. The median post-pancreatectomy survival was 36.9 months in the upfront setting and 29.5 months following neoadjuvant treatment. The median survival from diagnosis in patients receiving post-neoadjuvant resection was 34.5 months. Conclusions: This analysis provided contemporary information about resection rates, reasons for intraoperative attrition, and survival outcomes in the entire spectrum of PDAC patients selected for surgical exploration at an experienced institution