Pancreatic cancer: a report of treatment and survival trends for 100,313 patients diagnosed from 1985-1995, using the National Cancer Database

Utility of MRI in detection of PET-CT proven local recurrence of pancreatic adenocarcinoma after surgery

The aim of this prospective study was to investigate the accuracy and inter-observer reliability of MRI in detection of local recurrence (LR) of pancreatic adenocarcinoma (PAC) after surgery, which was proved by PET-CT and access correlation between functional MRI and PET parameters. Forty-five patients who underwent PET-CT and MRI for follow-up purposes after radical operation of PAC were included. Twenty-three were PET positive (study group) and 22 negative for LR (control group). MR examination was performed within one month after PET-CT and three readers who were blind for PET-CT findings searched LR in T2W, 3D-dynamic post-contrast T1W-FS and DWI sequences, respectively. Sensitivity and specificity were calculated while inter-reader agreement was estimated by Cronbach's Alpha reliability coefficient (CARC). Apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) of LR was correlated with the size (maximal diameter) and functional PET-CT parameters: mean and maximum standardized uptake values (SUVmean, SUVmax), metabolic tumor volume (MTV) and total lesion glycolysis (TLG), using Spearman's correlation coefficient (rS). Sensitivity and specificity among three readers in detecting the LR were 70% and 77-84% in T2W (CARC 0.806), 91-100% and 100% in 3D post-contrast T1W-FS (CARC 0.980), and both 100% in DWI sequences (CARC 1.000). Moderate inverse correlation was found between the ADC and SUVmean (rS = - 0.484), MTV (rS = - 0.494), TLG (rS = - 0.519) and lesion size (rS = - 0.567). MRI with DWI shows high diagnostic accuracy in detecting the LR of PAC in comparison to PET-CT as reference standard. ADC significantly inversely correlates with standard and advanced PET parameters and size of LR.

Rim Enhancement and Peripancreatic Fat Stranding in Preoperative MDCT as Predictors for Occult Metastasis in PDAC Patients

RATIONALE AND OBJECTIVE

To identify the radiological features and clinical biomarkers that could predict the occult metastasis (OM) of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC).

MATERIALS AND METHODS

This retrospective study included PDAC patients who were radiologically diagnosed resectable (R) or borderline resectable (BR) and underwent surgical exploration from January 2018 to December 2021. Depending on whether distant metastases were found during the exploration, patients were divided into OM and non-OM groups. Univariate and multivariable logistic regression analyses were performed to determine the radiological and clinical predictive factors for occult metastasis. Model performance was determined by discrimination and calibration.

RESULTS

A total of 502 patients (median age, 64 years; interquartile range, 57-70 years; 294 men) were enrolled, among which 68 (13.5%) patients were found with distant metastases, with 45 liver-only, 19 peritoneal-only, four patients had both liver and peritoneal metastases. Rim enhancement and peripancreatic fat stranding were more frequent in the OM group than in the non-OM group. Tumor size (p = 0.028), tumor resectability (p = 0.031), rim enhancement (p < 0.001), peripancreatic fat stranding (p < 0.001) and level of CA125 (p = 0.021) were independent predictors of occult metastasis according to the multivariable analyses, and the areas under the curve (AUCs) of these characteristics were 0.703, 0.594, 0.638, 0.655, 0.631, respectively. The combined model showed the highest AUC of 0.823.

CONCLUSIONS

Rim enhancement, peripancreatic fat stranding, tumor size, tumor resectability and level of CA125 are risk factors for OM of PDAC. The combined model of radiological and clinical features may help the preoperative prediction of OM in PDAC.

Allogeneic Vessels in Pancreaticoduodenectomy with Portal Vein Resection: Risk of Portal Vein Thrombosis and Prognosis

BACKGROUND

Allogeneic vessels (AV) are commonly used in pancreaticoduodenectomy (PD) with portal vein resection (PVR), but the epidemiological characteristics of portal vein thrombosis (PVT) are still unclear.

METHODS

The clinicopathological data of patients who underwent PD combined with PVR in our hospital from January 2011 to October 2022 were retrospectively collected. All patients underwent regular contrast-enhanced CT of the abdomen after surgery to identify PVT or recurrence and metastasis of the tumor.

RESULTS

A total of 878 patients received PD, of which 213 patients who also underwent PVR were included in the study. Among them are 16 (7.5%) tangential/patch reconstructions, 51 (23.9%) end-to-end anastomosis, and 146 (68.5%) AV reconstructions. The cumulative incidence of PVT in 1 month, 3 months, 6 months, 1 year, 2 years, and 3 years after surgery was 0.9%, 7.3%, 7.3%, 15.9%, 23.4%, and 27.6%, respectively. The results of logistic regression analysis showed that diabetes, operation procedure, and AV reconstruction were independent risk factors for PVT (P < 0.05). In the Cox analysis, PVT was clearly correlated with tumor recurrence (P = 0.038, hazard ratio (HR) = 1.553) and overall survival (P = 0.044, HR = 1.592) of pancreatic cancer patients.

CONCLUSION

The prevalence of PVT is high in PD with PVR, particularly in patients undergoing AV reconstructions. The occurrence of PVT has a clear correlation with the patient's long-term prognosis.

Comparison of clinical outcomes and prognosis between total pancreatectomy and pancreaticoduodenectomy for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma: a systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

To compare the clinical outcomes and prognosis of total pancreatectomy (TP) and pancreaticoduodenectomy (PD) for the treatment of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), and to explore the safety and indications of TP.

METHODS

A systematic search was conducted on PubMed, Web of Science, and Embase databases from January 1943 to March 2023 for literatures comparing TP and PD in the treatment of PDAC. The primary outcome was postoperative overall survival (OS), and secondary outcomes included surgery time, blood loss, readmission, hospital stay, perioperative mortality, and overall morbidity. Fixed-effect or random-effect models were selected based on heterogeneity, and odds ratio (OR), mean difference (MD), or hazard ratio (HR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated.

RESULTS

A total of six studies involving 8396 patients were included in the meta-analysis. There was no statistically significant difference in OS after surgery between the two groups (HR = 1.08, 95% CI: 0.91-1.27; P = 0.38). The TP group had a longer surgery time (MD = 13.66, 95% CI: 4.57-22.75; P = 0.003) and more blood loss (MD = 133.17, 95% CI: 8.00-258.33; P = 0.04) than the PD group. There were no significant differences between the two groups in terms of hospital stay (MD = 0.09, 95% CI: -2.04 to 2.22; P = 0.93), readmission rate (OR = 1.39; 95% CI: 1.00-1.92; P = 0.05), perioperative mortality (OR = 1.29, 95% CI: 0.98-1.69; P = 0.07), and overall morbidity (OR = 0.80, 95% CI: 0.50-1.26; P = 0.33).

CONCLUSION

The surgical process of TP is relatively complex, but there is no difference in short-term clinical outcomes and OS compared to PD, making it a safe and reliable procedure. Indications and treatment outcomes for planned TP and salvage TP may differ, and more research is needed in the future for further classification and verification.

Utility of Covered Self-Expanding Metal Stents for Biliary Drainage during Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy in Patients with Borderline Resectable Pancreatic Cancer

OBJECTIVES

We aimed to compare the utility of covered self-expanding metal stents (CSEMSs) with that of plastic stents (PSs) for biliary drainage during neoadjuvant chemotherapy in patients with borderline resectable pancreatic cancer.

METHODS

Forty patients with borderline resectable pancreatic cancer underwent biliary stenting during neoadjuvant chemotherapy at Hiroshima University Hospital. PSs and CSEMSs were placed in 19 and 21 patients, respectively. Two gemcitabine-based regimens for chemotherapy were used. Treatment outcomes and postoperative complications were compared between both groups.

RESULTS

The incidence of recurrent biliary obstruction was significantly lower in the CSEMS group (0% vs. 47.4%, p < 0.001), and the median time to recurrent biliary obstruction in the PS group was 47 days. There was no difference in the incidence of other complications such as non-occlusive cholangitis, pancreatitis, and cholecystitis between the two groups. Delays in the chemotherapy schedule due to stent-related complications were significantly frequent in the PS group (52.6% vs. 4.8%, p = 0.001). There was no significant difference in the incidence of postoperative complications between the two groups.

CONCLUSIONS

CSEMSs may be the best choice for safely performing neoadjuvant chemotherapy for several months in patients with borderline resectable pancreatic cancer with bile duct stricture.

Inter-Breath-Hold Geometric and Dosimetric Variations in Organs at Risk during Pancreatic Stereotactic Body Radiotherapy: Implications for Adaptive Radiation Therapy

Pancreatic cancer is the fourth leading cause of cancer-related death, with nearly 60,000 cases each year and less than a 10% 5-year overall survival rate. Radiation therapy (RT) is highly beneficial as a local-regional anticancer treatment. As anatomical variation is of great concern, motion management techniques, such as DIBH, are commonly used to minimize OARs toxicities; however, the variability between DIBHs has not been well studied. Here, we present an unprecedented systematic analysis of patients' anatomical reproducibility over multiple DIBH motion-management technique uses for pancreatic cancer RT. We used data from 20 patients; four DIBH scans were available for each patient to design 80 SBRT plans. Our results demonstrated that (i) there is considerable variation in OAR geometry and dose between same-subject DIBH scans; (ii) the RT plan designed for one scan may not be directly applicable to another scan; (iii) the RT treatment designed using a DIBH simulation CT results in different dosimetry in the DIBH treatment delivery; and (iv) this confirms the importance of adaptive radiation therapy (ART), such as MR-Linacs, for pancreatic RT delivery. The ART treatment delivery technique can account for anatomical variation between referenced and scheduled plans, and thus avoid toxicities of OARs because of anatomical variations between DIBH patient setups.

Radical antegrade modular pancreatosplenectomy (RAMPS) versus standard retrograde pancreatosplenectomy (SRPS) for resectable body and tail pancreatic adenocarcinoma: protocol of a multicenter, prospective, randomized phase III control trial (CSPAC-3)

BACKGROUND

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is a highly aggressive malignancy. Radical surgical resection offers the only potential cure. There is increasing agreement that radical antegrade modular pancreatosplenectomy (RAMPS) may benefit patients with tumors in the body and tail of the pancreas. To address this, the Chinese Study Group for Pancreatic Cancer (CSPAC)-3 trial is proposed to compare the effect of RAMPS and standard retrograde pancreatosplenectomy (SRPS) on patient survival and preoperative safety METHODS: The randomized controlled trial will be multicenter and two-armed with blinded outcomes and intention-to-treat analysis. Three hundred patients with resectable body and tail pancreatic adenocarcinoma will be enrolled and randomly assigned to RAMPS or SRPS. Adjuvant chemotherapy based on an initial regimen will be recommended 4-6 weeks after surgery if no serious complication occurs. The hypothesis that RAMPS improves survival outcomes compared with SRPS will be tested using a superiority trial. The primary outcome will be overall survival (OS). Secondary outcomes will include recurrence-free survival (RFS), R0 resection rate, the number of harvested lymph nodes, postoperative complications, and quality of life scores.

DISCUSSION

The use of RAMPS has increased over the past decade. It is reported that RAMPS is superior to SRPS in improving both the rate of R0 resection and lymph node yield. Despite these advantages, however, there is little high-level documentation of the superiority of RAMPS in terms of survival and this needs to be investigated. To address this issue, CSPAC has instigated the first prospective, randomized phase III control trials, aiming to explore the optimal surgical strategy for improving the prognosis and OS of patients with left-sided pancreatic cancer Trial registration Chinese Clinical Trial Registry ChiCTR2100053844; pre-results. Registered on December 1, 2021.

deepPERFECT: Novel Deep Learning CT Synthesis Method for Expeditious Pancreatic Cancer Radiotherapy

Major sources of delay in the standard of care RT workflow are the need for multiple appointments and separate image acquisition. In this work, we addressed the question of how we can expedite the workflow by synthesizing planning CT from diagnostic CT. This idea is based on the theory that diagnostic CT can be used for RT planning, but in practice, due to the differences in patient setup and acquisition techniques, separate planning CT is required. We developed a generative deep learning model, deepPERFECT, that is trained to capture these differences and generate deformation vector fields to transform diagnostic CT into preliminary planning CT. We performed detailed analysis both from an image quality and a dosimetric point of view, and showed that deepPERFECT enabled the preliminary RT planning to be used for preliminary and early plan dosimetric assessment and evaluation.

Review of Current Systemic Therapy and Novel Systemic Therapy for Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma

BACKGROUND

This review aims to describe the systemic treatment options for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma and includes a summary of the current treatments as well as the ongoing clinical trials which may be efficacious in the treatment of this aggressive malignancy.

METHODS

A literature review was performed using MEDLINE/PubMed between August 1996 and February 2023. The reviewed studies are categorized into these categories: current standard of care treatments, targeted therapies, immunotherapy and clinical trials. The current treatment modality for the treatment of advanced pancreatic cancer is mainly systemic chemotherapy.

RESULTS

The introduction of polychemotherapy regimens including gemcitabine/nab-paclitaxel and FOLFIRINOX (oxaliplatin, irinotecan, folinic acid and fluorouracil) has improved the clinical outcome of advanced pancreatic cancer. For further improvement in clinical outcomes, several novel approaches have been extensively studied in pancreatic cancer. The review discusses the current standard chemotherapy regimen and the novel treatment options in the field.

CONCLUSIONS

While there are novel treatments being explored for metastatic pancreatic, it remains a debilitating and aggressive disease with high mortality that warrants continued efforts to advance therapeutic options.

Systemic Anticoagulation and Inpatient Outcomes of Pancreatic Cancer: Real-World Evidence from U.S. Nationwide Inpatient Sample

Background: Pancreatic cancer can induce a hypercoagulable state which may lead to clinically apparent thrombosis. However, the effect of anticoagulants remains ambiguous. This study aimed to investigate the potential effect of long-term systemic anticoagulant usage on hospitalization outcomes of patients with pancreatic cancer. Methods: This retrospective study extracted all data from the U.S. Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS) database from 2005 to 2018. We included hospitalized adults ≥18 years old with a pancreatic cancer diagnosis identified by International Classification of Diseases ninth revision (ICD-9) and tenth revision (ICD-10) codes. We utilized diagnostic codes ICD9 V58.61 and ICD10 Z79.01, i.e., ‘long-term use of anticoagulant’, to identify individuals who were on a long-term systemic anticoagulant. The study cohort were then further grouped as being with or without long-term systemic use of an anticoagulant. Propensity score matching was performed to balance the characteristics of the two groups. The risks of life-threatening events, e.g., acute myocardial infarction (AMI), acute heart failure (AHF), sepsis, shock, and acute kidney injury (AKI), in-hospital death, and prolonged length of stay (LOS) in the hospital were compared between the groups by univariable and multivariable logistic regression analyses. Results: The study population consisted of 242,903 hospitalized patients with pancreas cancer, 6.5% (n = 15,719) of whom were on long-term systemic anticoagulants. A multivariable regression analysis showed that long-term systemic anticoagulant use was independently associated with lower odds of sepsis (aOR: 0.81, 95% CI: 0.76–0.85), shock (aOR: 0.59, 95% CI: 0.51–0.68), AKI (aOR: 0.86, 95% CI: 0.81–0.91), in-hospital mortality (aOR: 0.65, 95% CI: 0.60–0.70), and prolonged LOS (aOR: 0.84, 95% CI: 0.80–0.89). Conclusions: Long-term systemic anticoagulant use is associated with better clinical outcomes in terms of decreased risks of some life-threatening events, in-hospital death, and prolonged LOS among hospitalized patients with pancreatic cancer in the U.S.

Comparison of oncologic outcomes between pancreaticoduodenectomy and total pancreatectomy for pancreatic adenocarcinoma

BACKGROUND

Pancreatoduodenectomy (PD) and total pancreatectomy (TP) are two surgical methods to treat patients with pancreatic head adenocarcinoma (PHAC). However, the oncologic outcomes of TP for PHAC remain controversial. In this study, we compared early mortality and long-term survival patients undergoing TP and those with PD.

METHODS

All patients diagnosed with non-metastatic PHAC who underwent PD or TP from 1988 to 2016 were retrieved from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results database. Propensity score matching (PSM) was used to balance the inter-group covariates. Cancer-specific survival (CSS) was the primary endpoint.

RESULTS

A total of 4748 patients (743 TP and 4005 PD) were included in the study. Some 740 patients who underwent TP were matched with 1479 who had PD. After PSM, there was no difference between TP and PD groups regarding 30-day mortality (3.5% vs. 2.7%, p = 0.290) and 90-day mortality (9.9% vs. 8%, p = 0.135). More importantly, TP showed comparable survival in comparison to PD, prior or after excluding patients who died within 30 and 90 days. Besides, multivariate analysis revealed that tumor size, tumor stage, N stage, chemotherapy, and radiation were significant prognostic factors.

CONCLUSION

PD and TP have similar early mortality and long-term survival for patients with PHAC. In selected patients, TP can be used when oncologically appropriate.

Prognostic Impact of Positive Peritoneal Lavage Cytology on Resectable Pancreatic Body and Tail Cancer: A Retrospective Study

BACKGROUND

The prognostic impact of positive peritoneal lavage cytology on pancreatic cancer is unclear. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate its impact in resectable pancreatic body and tail cancer.

METHODS

Between January 2006 and December 2019, 97 patients with pancreatic body and tail cancer underwent peritoneal lavage cytology and curative resection at our institution. We analyzed the impact of positive peritoneal lavage cytology on clinicopathological factors and on the prognosis of pancreatic body and tail cancer.

RESULTS

Malignant cells were detected in 14 patients (14.4%) using peritoneal lavage cytology. In these patients, the tumor diameter was significantly larger (p < 0.001) and anterior serosal invasion (p = 0.034), splenic artery invasion (p = 0.013), lympho-vessel invasion (p = 0.025), and perineural invasion (p = 0.008) were significantly more frequent. The R1 resection rate was also significantly higher in patients with positive peritoneal lavage cytology than in negative patients (p = 0.015). Positive peritoneal lavage cytology had a significantly poor impact on overall survival (p = 0.001) and recurrence-free survival (p < 0.001). This cytology was also an independent poor prognostic factor for recurrence (p = 0.022) and was associated with peritoneal dissemination and liver metastasis.

CONCLUSIONS

Positive peritoneal lavage cytology is considered to be indicative of more systemic disease in patients with resectable pancreatic body and tail cancer than in patients with negative peritoneal lavage cytology. Early detection of pancreatic cancer before it develops micrometastases is important to improve prognosis, and CY+ patients require more intensive multimodality treatment than standard treatment for resectable pancreatic cancer.

Effectiveness of Abdominal Ultrasonography for Improving the Prognosis of Pancreatic Cancer during Medical Checkup: A Single Center Retrospective Analysis

Recent advancements in surgical and anti-cancer therapies have provided significant hope of long survival in patients with pancreatic cancer (PC). To realize this hope, routine medical checkups of asymptomatic people should be performed to identify operable PCs. In this study, we evaluated the efficacy of medical checkups using abdominal ultrasonography (US). We retrospectively analyzed 374 patients with PC at our institute between 2010 and 2021. We divided these patients into several groups according to the diagnostic approach and compared their background and prognosis. These groups comprised PCs diagnosed through (a) symptoms, 242 cases; (b) US during medical checkup for asymptomatic individuals, 17; and other means. Of the 374 patients, 192 were men (51.3%), and the median age was 74 years (34−105). Tumors were located in the pancreatic tail in 67 patients (17.9%). Excision ratio and 5-year survival rate were significantly better in group (b) than in (a) (58.8% vs. 23.1%, p < 0.01 and 42.2% vs. 9.4%, p < 0.001, respectively). The prognosis of patients diagnosed using US during medical checkup was better than that of patients identified through symptomatic presentation of PC. US for asymptomatic individuals with PC might be one of the useful modalities for promoting better prognosis of PCs.

Intake of Calcium, Magnesium, and Phosphorus and Risk of Pancreatic Cancer in the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal, and Ovarian Cancer Screening Trial

ObjectiveFew epidemiological studies have investigated the associations between calcium, magnesium, and phosphorus intake and pancreatic cancer. We examined these associations in the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal and Ovarian Cancer Screening Trial.MethodsDiet was assessed using the Dietary Questionnaire (DQX) at baseline in the intervention arm and the Dietary History Questionnaire (DHQ) in 1999 or around the third anniversary of randomization in both the intervention and control arms. During a median follow-up of 12.2 years, 279 cases of pancreatic cancer occurred from 58,477 participants who completed DQX; 380 cases arose from 101,622 participants who responded to DHQ over a median follow-up of 8.9 years. Cox proportional hazards regression was used to estimate hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI).ResultsTotal calcium intake was inversely associated with pancreatic cancer [HR (95% CI) for the fourth vs. the first quartiles in the DHQ cohort: 0.67 (0.47, 0.96); p-trend: 0.035]. An inverse association was also observed for total magnesium intake [HR (95% CI) for the fourth vs. the first quartiles in the DQX cohort: 0.61 (0.37, 1.00); p-trend: 0.023]. Reduced risk associated with total calcium intake was confined to subjects with a high fat intake (>73 g/day) in the DHQ cohort (p-interaction: 0.16).ConclusionsThere was not a significant association between dietary phosphorus intake and pancreatic cancer risk in both cohorts. Total intake of calcium and magnesium are associated with a lower pancreatic cancer risk. The effect of total calcium intake was modified by fat intake.

A phantom-based analysis for tracking intra-fraction pancreatic tumor motion by ultrasound imaging during radiation therapy

Purpose

In this study, we aim to further evaluate the accuracy of ultrasound tracking for intra-fraction pancreatic tumor motion during radiotherapy by a phantom-based study.

Methods

Twelve patients with pancreatic cancer who were treated with stereotactic body radiation therapy were enrolled in this study. The displacement points of the respiratory cycle were acquired from 4DCT and transferred to a motion platform to mimic realistic breathing movements in our phantom study. An ultrasound abdominal phantom was placed and fixed in the motion platform. The ground truth of phantom movement was recorded by tracking an optical tracker attached to this phantom. One tumor inside the phantom was the tracking target. In the evaluation of the results, the monitoring results from the ultrasound system were compared with the phantom motion results from the infrared camera. Differences between infrared monitoring motion and ultrasound tracking motion were analyzed by calculating the root-mean-square error.

Results

The 82.2% ultrasound tracking motion was within a 0.5 mm difference value between ultrasound tracking displacement and infrared monitoring motion. 0.7% ultrasound tracking failed to track accurately (a difference value &gt; 2.5 mm). These differences between ultrasound tracking motion and infrared monitored motion do not correlate with respiratory displacements, respiratory velocity, or respiratory acceleration by linear regression analysis.

Conclusions

The highly accurate monitoring results of this phantom study prove that the ultrasound tracking system may be a potential method for real-time monitoring targets, allowing more accurate delivery of radiation doses.

Biologically effective doses of 60-70Gy versus >70Gy of stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) combined with chemotherapy in locally advanced pancreatic cancer: protocol of a single-centre, phase II clinical trial

INTRODUCTION

There is a paucity of studies about whether dose escalation of stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) prolongs survival compared with de-escalation for patients with locally advanced pancreatic cancer (LAPC). Therefore, the aim of the study is to compare the survival benefits of biologically effective dose (BED₁₀, α/β=10) of 60-70 Gy with those of BED₁₀ >70 Gy.

METHODS AND ANALYSIS

This study is a single-centre, phase II trial. Patients with LAPC are randomly allocated to receive SBRT with BED₁₀ of 60-70 Gy or >70 Gy in 5-6 fractions combined with gemcitabine plus albumin-bound paclitaxel. The primary outcome is progression-free survival. The secondary outcomes are adverse events, local control and overall survival.

ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION

The trial protocol has been approved by the Ethics committee of Shanghai Changhai Hospital. The ethics number is CHEC2020-100. Study results will be disseminated through peer-reviewed journals and released in related medical conferences.

TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBERS

NCT04603586.

Endoscopic ultrasound-guided injectable therapy for pancreatic cancer: A systematic review

BACKGROUND

Given the low survival rate in pancreatic cancer, new therapeutic techniques have been explored, especially for unresectable or borderline resectable disease. Endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) provides real-time imaging and minimally invasive access for local and targeted injection of anti-tumor agents directly into the pancreatic tumor. Limited studies have been reported using this technique for the treatment of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC).

AIM

To evaluate the progress made with EUS-guided injectable therapies in the treatment of PDAC.

METHODS

All original articles published in English until July 15, 2021, were retrieved via a library-assisted literature search from Ovid Evidence-Based Medicine Reviews and Scopus databases. Reference lists were reviewed to identify additional relevant articles. Prospective clinical studies evaluating the use of EUS-guided injectable therapies in PDAC were included. Studies primarily directed at non-EUS injectable therapies and other malignancies were excluded. Retrieved manuscripts were reviewed descriptively with on critical appraisal of published studies based on their methods and outcome measures such as safety, feasibility, and effectiveness in terms of tumor response and survival. Heterogeneity in data outcomes and therapeutic techniques limited the ability to perform comparative statistical analysis.

RESULTS

A total of thirteen articles (503 patients) were found eligible for inclusion. The EUS-injectable therapies used were heterogeneous among the studies consisting of immunotherapy (n = 5) in 59 patients, chemotherapy (n = 1) in 36 patients, and viral and other biological therapies (n = 7) in 408 patients. Eleven of the studies reviewed were single armed while two were double armed with one randomized trial and one non-randomized comparative study. Overall, the included studies demonstrated EUS-guided injectable therapies to be safe and feasible with different agents as monotherapy or in conjunction with other modalities. Promising results were also observed regarding their efficacy and survival parameters in patients with PDAC.

CONCLUSION

EUS-guided injectable therapies, including immunotherapy, chemotherapy, and viral or other biological therapies have shown minimal adverse events and potential efficacy in the treatment of PDAC. Comparative studies, including controlled trials, are required to confirm these results in order to offer novel EUS-based treatment options for patients with PDAC.

The clinical benefits of performing staging laparoscopy for pancreatic cancer treatment

BACKGROUND

The indications and benefits derived from staging laparoscopy (SL) for pancreatic cancer (PC) remain controversial.

METHODS

This study involved PC patients in whom resection had been considered possible between 2009 and 2020. We classified the patients into before 2014 (training set) and 2014 and later (validation set) groups, as SL was introduced in 2014, in our institution. In the training set, the predictors of non-curative factors were investigated, and reproducibility was confirmed in the validation set. In addition, the outcomes were compared between the datasets.

RESULTS

A total of 802 patients were classified into the training set (n = 241) and validation set (n = 561). In the training set, pancreatic body or tail tumors (odds ratio [OR]: 2.62: P = 0.039), CA19-9 > 88 U/ml (OR: 3.21: P = 0.018) and a tumor diameter >36 mm (OR: 6.07; P < 0.001) were independent predictors of non-curative factors. The increased rate of non-curative factors was confirmed as the number of predictors increased in the validation set. The curative resection (CR) rate was significantly higher in the validation set than in the training set (P = 0.035). Although there was no significant difference in the OS in the not-resected group (P = 0.895), the OS in the CR and non-CR group was significantly better in the validation set than in the training set (CR, P < 0.001; non-CR, P < 0.001).

CONCLUSION

The findings suggest potential candidates for SL and revealed improved outcomes by the advent of treatment strategies including SL.

Real-world outcomes of adjuvant gemcitabine versus gemcitabine plus capecitabine for resected pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma

Background:

Adjuvant chemotherapy is the standard treatment after curative-intent surgery for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). The phase-3 ESPAC-4 trial demonstrated significantly improved overall survival (OS) with Gemcitabine plus capecitabine (GemCap) over Gemcitabine (Gem) in Europe. We conducted a retrospective efficacy and safety evaluation of GemCap versus Gem in an Asian population.

Methods:

This retrospective analysis included 292 patients with PDAC who received adjuvant Gem or GemCap after curative resection between January 2017 and December 2020 at Asan Medical Center, Seoul, Korea.

Results:

Adjuvant Gem and GemCap were administered to 161 (55.1%) and 131 (44.8%) patients, respectively. The Gem group had significantly older patients (median 66 versus 63 years, p = 0.001); otherwise, the groups had similar baseline characteristics. With median follow-up durations of 39.4 [95% confidence interval (CI), 36.9–45.0] and 39.4 (95% CI, 34.7–41.6) months in the Gem and GemCap groups, the median OS was 36.8 (95% CI, 29.7–43.5) and 46.1 (95% CI, 31.5–not reached) months in the Gem and GemCap groups, respectively [unadjusted hazard ratio (HR) = 0.7; 95% CI, 0.5–1.0; p = 0.07). The median recurrence-free survival was 14.3 (95% CI, 12.9–17.7) and 17.0 (95% CI, 13.3–28.2) months, respectively (p = 0.5). Hand-foot skin reactions (any grade, 15.3% versus 0.6%; p < 0.001), neutropenia (78.6% versus 67.7%, p = 0.04) and thrombocytopenia (30.5% versus 20.5%, p = 0.04) were more common in the GemCap group. Multivariate analysis revealed adjuvant GemCap – compared with Gem – to be significantly associated with better OS (adjusted HR = 0.6; 95% CI, 0.4–0.9; p = 0.01). Otherwise, moderate or poor histological grade, lymph node positivity, positive resection margin, and elevated CA 19-9 (>median) were significantly associated with worse OS.

Conclusions:

Adjuvant GemCap showed the consistent clinical outcomes with the ESPAC-4 trial. As mFOLFIRINOX is the new standard treatment for medically fit patients with resected PDAC, further evaluation of optimal adjuvant chemotherapy in daily practice is warranted.

Finite Element-Based Personalized Simulation of Duodenal Hydrogel Spacer: Spacer Location Dependent Duodenal Sparing and a Decision Support System for Spacer-Enabled Pancreatic Cancer Radiation Therapy

Purpose

Pancreatic cancer is the fourth leading cause of cancer-related death, with a very low 5-year overall survival rate (OS). Radiation therapy (RT) together with dose escalation significantly increases the OS at 2 and 3 years. However, dose escalation is very limited due to the proximity of the duodenum. Hydrogel spacers are an effective way to reduce duodenal toxicity, but the complexity of the anatomy and the procedure makes the success and effectiveness of the spacer procedure highly uncertain. To provide a preoperative simulation of hydrogel spacers, we presented a patient-specific spacer simulator algorithm and used it to create a decision support system (DSS) to provide a preoperative optimal spacer location to maximize the spacer benefits.

Materials and Methods

Our study was divided into three phases. In the validation phase, we evaluated the patient-specific spacer simulator algorithm (FEMOSSA) for the duodenal spacer using the dice similarity coefficient (DSC), overlap volume histogram (OVH), and radial nearest neighbor distance (RNND). For the simulation phase, we simulated four virtual spacer scenarios based on the location of the spacer in para-duodenal space. Next, stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) plans were designed and dosimetrically analyzed. Finally, in the prediction phase, using the result of the simulation phase, we created a Bayesian DSS to predict the optimal spacer location and biological effective dose (BED).

Results

A realistic simulation of the spacer was achieved, reflected in a statistically significant increase in average target and duodenal DSC for the simulated spacer. Moreover, the small difference in average mean and 5th-percentile RNNDs (0.5 and 2.1 mm) and OVH thresholds (average of less than 0.75 mm) showed that the simulation attained similar separation as the real spacer. We found a spacer-location-independent decrease in duodenal V20Gy, a highly spacer-location-dependent change in V33Gy, and a strong correlation between L1cc and V33Gy. Finally, the Bayesian DSS predicted the change in BED with a root mean squared error of 3.6 Gys.

Conclusions

A duodenal spacer simulator platform was developed and used to systematically study the dosimetric effect of spacer location. Further, L1cc is an informative anatomical feedback to guide the DSS to indicate the spacer efficacy, optimum location, and expected improvement.

Next Generation of Cancer Drug Repurposing: Therapeutic Combination of Aspirin and Oseltamivir Phosphate Potentiates Gemcitabine to Disable Key Survival Pathways Critical for Pancreatic Cancer Progression

Simple Summary

Drug repurposing in combination with clinical standard chemotherapeutics opens a novel and promising clinical treatment approach for patients with pancreatic cancer. This report presents a novel therapeutic effect of the combination of aspirin and oseltamivir phosphate with chemotherapeutic gemcitabine as a treatment option for pancreatic cancer. The data suggest that targeting mammalian neuraminidase-1 on pancreatic cancer cells with these repurposed drugs is crucial for modulating cell proliferation, invasion, clonogenicity, and migration. These promising results warrant additional investigation to assess the potential of translating into the clinical setting to improve the cancer patient prognosis for an otherwise fatal disease.

Abstract

Resistance to chemotherapeutics and high metastatic rates contribute to the abysmal survival rate in patients with pancreatic cancer. An alternate approach for treating human pancreatic cancer involves repurposing the anti-inflammatory drug, aspirin (ASA), with oseltamivir phosphate (OP) in combination with the standard chemotherapeutic agent, gemcitabine (GEM). The question is whether treatment with ASA and OP can sensitize cancer cells to the cytotoxicity induced by GEM and limit the development of chemoresistance. To assess the key survival pathways critical for pancreatic cancer progression, we used the AlamarBlue cytotoxicity assay to determine the cell viability and combination index for the drug combinations, flow cytometric analysis of annexin V apoptosis assay to detect apoptotic and necrotic cells, fluorometric QCM™ chemotaxis migration assay to assess cellular migration, fluorometric extracellular matrix (ECM) cell adhesion array kit to assess the expression of the ECM proteins, scratch wound assay using the 96-well WoundMaker™, and the methylcellulose clonogenic assay to assess clonogenic potential. The combination of ASA and OP with GEM significantly upended MiaPaCa-2 and PANC-1 pancreatic cancer cell viability, clonogenic potential, expression of critical extracellular matrix proteins, migration, and promoted apoptosis. ASA in combination with OP significantly improves the effectiveness of GEM in the treatment of pancreatic cancer and disables key survival pathways critical to disease progression.

Targeting the Endocannabinoidome in Pancreatic Cancer

Pancreatic Ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), the most common malignancy of the pancreas, is an aggressive and lethal form of cancer with a very high mortality rate. High heterogeneity, asymptomatic initial stages and a lack of specific diagnostic markers result in an end-stage diagnosis when the tumour has locally advanced or metastasised. PDAC is resistant to most of the available chemotherapy and radiation therapy treatments, making surgery the most potent curative treatment. The desmoplastic tumour microenvironment contributes to determining PDAC pathophysiology, immune response and therapeutic efficacy. The existing therapeutic approaches such as FDA-approved chemotherapeutics, gemcitabine, abraxane and folfirinox, prolong survival marginally and are accompanied by adverse effects. Several studies suggest the role of cannabinoids as anti-cancer agents. Cannabinoid receptors are known to be expressed in pancreatic cells, with a higher expression reported in pancreatic cancer patients. Therefore, pharmacological targeting of the endocannabinoid system might offer therapeutic benefits in pancreatic cancer. In addition, emerging data suggest that cannabinoids in combination with chemotherapy can increase survival in transgenic pancreatic cancer murine models. This review provides an overview of the regulation of the expanded endocannabinoid system, or endocannabinoidome, in PDAC and will explore the potential of targeting this system for novel anticancer approaches.

Pancreatic Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy With or Without Hypofractionated Elective Nodal Irradiation

PURPOSE

Pancreatic stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) is limited to gross tumor without elective coverage for subclinical disease. Given a better understanding of recurrence patterns, we hypothesized that the addition of elective nodal irradiation (ENI) to pancreatic SBRT would be tolerable and would decrease locoregional progression.

METHODS AND MATERIALS

We conducted a retrospective 1:2 propensity-matched cohort study to compare toxicity and locoregional progression among patients treated with pancreatic SBRT with or without ENI. In the SBRT + ENI cohort, an elective target volume was delineated per Radiation Therapy Oncology Group guidelines and treated to 25 Gy in 5 fractions alongside 40 Gy in 5 fractions to gross disease. The primary outcome was the cumulative incidence of locoregional progression, with death as a competing risk.

RESULTS

Among 135 candidate controls treated with SBRT alone, 100 were propensity-matched to 50 patients treated with SBRT + ENI. All patients completed SBRT. Median potential radiographic follow-up was 28 months. The incidence of late and serious acute toxicity was similar between matched cohorts. However, SBRT + ENI was associated with a statistically significant increase in acute grade 1 to 2 nausea (60% vs 20%, P < .001). The 24-month cumulative incidences of locoregional progression with and without ENI were 22.6% (95% confidence interval [CI], 10.0%-35.1%) versus 44.6% (95% CI, 34.8%-54.4%; multivariable-adjusted hazard ratio, 0.39; 95% CI, 0.18-0.87; P = .021). This was stable in sensitivity analyses of uniform prescription dose, multiagent chemotherapy, and resectability. There were fewer peripancreatic (0% vs 7%), porta hepatis (2% vs 7%), and peri-aortic/aortocaval (5% vs 12%) recurrences after SBRT + ENI, but no difference in survival.

CONCLUSIONS

Pancreatic SBRT + ENI was tolerable and did not increase late or serious acute toxicity relative to a matched cohort undergoing SBRT alone, but did increase acute grade 1 to 2 nausea. The addition of ENI to SBRT was associated with decreased locoregional progression but not improved survival. Further studies are warranted to determine whether ENI offers meaningful benefit.

Effectiveness of Adjuvant Therapy in Patients with Pancreatic Cancer Who Underwent Neoadjuvant Therapy

PURPOSE

Neoadjuvant therapy (NAT) is used to treat not only advanced pancreatic cancer but also resectable lesions. The present study investigated the effectiveness of postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy for patients with pancreatic cancer who underwent surgical resection after NAT.

METHODS

Patients who underwent macroscopically curative resection after NAT for pancreatic cancer were enrolled. Adjuvant chemotherapy was defined as at least 1 cycle of planned chemotherapy within 3 months after the date of surgery and included S-1, gemcitabine, or both. We retrospectively examined the effect of adjuvant chemotherapy on overall survival (OS) and recurrence-free survival (RFS) as a function of patients' clinicopathological factors.

RESULTS

Ninety-seven patients were included in the study, of which 68 (70.1%) underwent adjuvant chemotherapy. Administration of adjuvant chemotherapy was significantly associated with prolonged OS and RFS in patients whose elevated levels of carbohydrate antigen 19-9 or duke pancreatic monoclonal antigen type-2 did not normalize after NAT. In patients with pathological lymph node metastasis, the administration of adjuvant chemotherapy was significantly associated with longer OS but did not improve PFS.

CONCLUSIONS

Postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy was associated with prolonged postoperative survival in patients with pancreatic cancer who did not sufficiently respond to NAT as judged by tumor marker expression.

Higher Tumor Cellularity in Resected Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma Is a Negative Prognostic Indicator

Background/Aims

Desmoplasia is a prominent feature of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDA). Stromal desmoplasia reflects the low cellularity that is characteristic of PDA, and it may play a role in PDA chemoresistance. In this retrospective study, we evaluated the relationship between tumor cellularity in resected PDA specimens and long-term patient outcomes.

Methods

We retrospectively reviewed the data from 175 patients who underwent PDA resection between January 2010 and December 2015 at Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, and analyzed their clinicopathological features and the relationship between tumor cellularity (high vs low based on a cutoff of 30% cellularity) and patient outcomes.

Results

The high-cellularity group had significantly shorter overall survival (OS) (18.7 months vs 26.6 months, p=0.006) and disease-free survival (11.0 months vs 16.9 months, p=0.031) than the low-cellularity group. Multivariate analysis revealed that high tumor cellularity was an independent risk factor for poor OS (hazard ratio, 2.008; 95% confidence interval, 1.361 to 2.962; p<0.001). Adjuvant therapy improved OS in the low-cellularity group (16.3 months vs 41.3 months, p=0.001) but not in the high-cellularity group (15.9 months vs 24.4 months, p=0.107).

Conclusions

Tumor cellularity in PDA specimens may be a prognostic and predictive biomarker that could aid in identifying patients who would benefit from adjuvant therapy for PDA. (Gut Liver 2020;14:521-528)

Neoadjuvant Treatment for Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma: A False Promise or an Opportunity to Improve Outcome?

Simple Summary

Pancreatic cancer usually presents late when it has spread to distant sites. In a small proportion of patients, the cancer can be removed by surgery. Surgery is usually followed by chemotherapy, as studies have shown that this improves survival. However, due to complications after surgery and a decline in fitness, some patients do not start their chemotherapy and many do not complete the planned course. The cancer returns in the majority of patients. Chemotherapy or a combination of chemotherapy and radiotherapy before surgery are being investigated to improve survival. The best treatment regime and patient selection for different treatment strategies remains to be defined and is discussed here.

Abstract

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) has an aggressive tumor biology and is associated with poor survival outcomes. Most patients present with metastatic or locally advanced disease. In the 10–20% of patients with upfront resectable disease, surgery offers the only chance of cure, with the addition of adjuvant chemotherapy representing an established standard of care for improving outcomes. Despite resection followed by adjuvant chemotherapy, at best, 3-year survival reaches 63.4%. Post-operative complications and poor performance mean that around 50% of the patients do not commence adjuvant chemotherapy, and a significant proportion do not complete the intended treatment course. These factors, along with the advantages of early treatment of micrometastatic disease, the ability to downstage tumors, and the increase in R0 resection rates, have increased interest in neo-adjuvant treatment strategies. Here we review biomarkers for early diagnosis of PDAC and patient selection for a neo-adjuvant approach. We also review the current evidence for different chemotherapy regimens in this setting, as well as the role of chemoradiotherapy and immunotherapy, and we discuss ongoing trials.

Prognostic impact of splenic vessel involvement and tumor size in distal pancreatectomy for adenocarcinoma: a retrospective multicentric cohort study

PURPOSE

Splenic vessel involvement occurs frequently in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) of the body and the tail (B/T) but the impact on survival is unknown. We assessed the influence of radiological and pathologic involvement of splenic artery (p-SA +) and vein (p-SV +) on patient outcomes after distal pancreatectomy (DP) for PDAC.

METHODS

From 2013 to 2019, all DP for PDAC in five centers were included. Factors associated with overall (OS) and disease-free (DFS) survival were identified.

RESULTS

Among the 76 patients included, 5 (6.6%) had p-SA + only, 11 (14.5%) had p-SV + only, and 24 (31.6%) had both p-SA + and p-SV + . The preoperative CT-scan accuracy to predict p-SV + and p-SA + was high (sensitivity: 91.4% and 82.8%, respectively; negative predictive value: 89.7% and 88.3%, respectively). The 5-year OS and DFS rates were 3.9% and 8.3%, respectively. Multivariate analysis identified splenic vessel involvement (i.e., p-SA + or p-SV + , or both p-SA + and p-SV +) as the only independent factor influencing DFS (HR 4.04; 95% CI [1.22-13.44], p = 0.023). Tumor size ≥ 30 mm was the only independent factor influencing OS (HR 4.04; 95% CI [1.26-12.95], p = 0.019) and was associated with a high risk of p-SA + (p = 0.001) and p-SV + (p < 0.001).

CONCLUSION

Tumor size ≥ 30 mm and splenic vessel involvement occurred in more than half of the patients who underwent DP for PDAC and had negative impact on long-term survival. Preoperative CT-scan was reliable to identify splenic vessel involvement in B/T PDAC. Large tumor size and radiological splenic vessel involvement could be taken into account to propose a neoadjuvant treatment.

MicroRNAs as biomarkers and perspectives in the therapy of pancreatic cancer

Pancreatic cancer is considered as one of the most aggressive tumor types, representing over 45,750 mortality cases annually in the USA solely. The aggressive nature and late identification of pancreatic cancer, combined with the restrictions of existing chemotherapeutics, present the mandatory need for the advancement of novel treatment systems. Ongoing reports have shown an important role of microRNAs (miRNAs) in the initiation, migration, and metastasis of malignancies. Besides, abnormal transcriptional levels of miRNAs have regularly been related with etiopathogenesis of pancreatic malignancy, underlining the conceivable utilization of miRNAs in the management of pancreatic disease patients. In this review article, we give a concise outline of molecular pathways involved in etiopathogenesis of pancreatic cancer patients as well as miRNA implications in pancreatic cancer patients. Ensuing sections describe the involvement of miRNAs in the diagnosis, prognosis, and therapy of pancreatic cancer patients. The involvement of miRNAs in the chemoresistance of pancreatic cancers was also discussed. End area portrays the substance of survey with future headings.

The current role of blood-based biomarkers in surgical decision-making in patients with localised pancreatic cancer: A systematic review

INTRODUCTION

The role of blood-based biomarkers in surgical decision-making in patients with localised pancreatic cancer remains unclear. This review aimed to report the utility of blood-based biomarkers focusing on prediction of response to neoadjuvant therapy, prediction of surgical resectability and early relapse after surgery.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

MEDLINE/PubMed, Embase and Web of Science were searched till October 2019. Studies published between January 2000 and September 2019 with a minimum of 20 patients with pancreatic adenocarcinoma, reporting the utility of at least one blood-based biomarker in predicting response to neoadjuvant therapy and predicting surgical resectability or early relapse after surgery were included.

RESULTS

A total of 2604 studies were identified, of which 24 comprising of 3367 patients and 12 blood-based biomarkers were included. All included studies were observational. Levels of carbohydrate antigen (CA)19-9 were reported in the majority of the studies. Levels of CA19-9 predicted the response to neoadjuvant therapy and early relapse in 10 studies. CA125 levels above 35 U/ml were predictive of surgical irresectability in two studies. However, marked variation in both timing of sampling and cut-off values was noted between studies.

CONCLUSION

Despite some evidence of potential benefit, the utility of currently available blood-based biomarkers in aiding surgical decision-making in patients undergoing potentially curative treatment for pancreatic cancer is limited by methodological heterogeneity. Standardisation of future studies may allow a more comprehensive analysis of the biomarkers described in this review.

Identification of G-protein signaling modulator 2 as a diagnostic and prognostic biomarker of pancreatic adenocarcinoma: an exploration of its regulatory mechanisms

Background

Pancreatic adenocarcinoma (PAAD) has a high rate of mortality. Unfortunately, it is difficult to diagnosis. This study aimed to develop a more in-depth understanding of the disease.

Methods

A total of 177 patients with PAAD were recruited from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database. Microarray analysis was performed to identify differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in PAAD. The microarray data were adapted to the ingenuity pathway analysis (IPA) for annotation and visualization, followed by protein-protein interaction (PPI) network analysis. In vitro transwell migration assays were conducted to explore the molecular and functional characteristics of pancreatic adenocarcinoma cells (PANC-1) with stable low expression of G-protein signaling modulator 2 (GPSM2). Expression of GPSM2 and the associated hub genes were detected by reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR).

Results

The overexpression of GPSM2 was proved in PAAD, as compared with the healthy tissues, as well as its correlation with history of chronic pancreatitis, T stage, TNM stage and tumor grade. We described it as an independent prognostic factor and found that it could influence the infiltration of immune cells in the tumor microenvironment. Silencing of GPSM2 restrained the and migration of the cells. Microarray analysis identified 1,631 DEGs in PAAD cells. The PPI network analysis identified hub genes including CD44, ITGB1, ITGB5, ITGA2, ITGA5, AKT1, EGFR, NRAS and MAP2K1, and their relationship with GPSM2 was confirmed by qPCR.

Conclusions

GPSM2 is a novel prognostic factor and therapeutic target for PAAD. GPSM2 promoted the migration of pancreatic adenocarcinoma cells .Targeting GPSM2 and its downstream genes may prolong the survival time of patients with PAAD.

Low expression of tRF-Pro-CGG predicts poor prognosis in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma

BACKGROUND & AIMS

tRFs (tRNA-derived RNA fragments) have been reported to facilitate cancer progression in multiple cancers. However, their role in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) remains to be determined. In this study, we mainly investigated the expression of tRF-Pro-CGG in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma and evaluated its relationship with the clinicopathology and survival time of patients.

METHODS

37 cases of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma, and 15 cases of normal pancreatic tissues were collected which were resected by surgery from January 2017 to June 2020 from the Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic surgery of Changzhou second people's Hospital. The expression of tRF-Pro-CGG in paraffin-embedded tissues was detected by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH). The clinical data including age, sex, tumor location, tumor diameter, tumor clinical stage (TNM stage), depth of invasion, regional lymph node metastasis, serum CA199, and serum CEA were collected and analyzed retrospectively, whether the expression tRF-Pro-CGG was correlation with the pathological parameters and clinical outcomes of patients.

RESULTS

The expression level of tRF-Pro-CGG was significantly downregulated in PDAC and associated with an advanced TNM stage (P=0.000) and the N stage (P=0.000) of patients. More importantly, low tRF-Pro-CGG expression predicted poor survival in PDAC patients (P=0.003).

CONCLUSIONS

TRF-Pro-CGG is under-expressed in PDAC and is associated with short clinical survival and poor prognosis. tRF-Pro-CGG is an independent prognostic factor, which highlights its role as a potential biomarker for PDAC progression and therapy.

Intraperitoneal gemcitabine chemotherapy is safe for patients with resected pancreatic cancer: final clinical and pharmacologic data from a phase II protocol and recommended future directions

Worldwide, the surgical management of pancreas cancer using the Whipple procedure results in long-term survival in approximately 20% of patients when there is a R0 resection. Local recurrence within the resection site and peritoneal metastases are a prominent part of this treatment failure. Gemcitabine was used for a regional chemotherapy treatment strategy. Doses and schedules of chemotherapy routinely used for systemic treatment were administered as hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) in the operating room. Then patients went on to receive 6 months of long-term normothermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (NIPEC) with gemcitabine. Data was gathered to determine a pharmacologic rationale and safety of this monotherapy with gemcitabine. The use of intraperitoneal gemcitabine was well supported by pharmacologic data. The peritoneal surface exposure as measured by pharmacokinetic studies showed the area under the curve (AUC) of intraperitoneal concentration times time divided by plasma concentration times time to be 95-507. Regarding the safety of HIPEC gemcitabine in 12 patients, a single class III adverse event that resolved by radiologic intervention occurred. In patients with resected pancreas cancer treated with HIPEC gemcitabine the morbidity and mortality rate was not increased over historical data of resection alone. Also, six cycles of NIPEC gemcitabine were well tolerated in eight of eight eligible patients with seven patients completing 6 months of long-term intraperitoneal treatment. Local recurrence and peritoneal metastases were absent. Median survival was 29 months and five patients survived longer than 2 years. These early data suggest that intraperitoneal gemcitabine given under hyperthermic conditions in the operating theater and long-term through an intraperitoneal port is safe. Also, in this pilot study long-term local control with intraperitoneal gemcitabine occurred. Intraperitoneal gemcitabine may improve local-regional control of resected pancreas cancer. This may lead to more successful multimodality strategies.

Adding Delayed Phase Images to Dual-Phase Contrast-Enhanced CT Increases Sensitivity for Small Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma

BACKGROUND. Contrast-enhanced CT performed for pancreatic ductal adeno-carcinoma (PDAC) detection traditionally uses a dual-phase (pancreatic and portal venous) protocol. However, PDAC may exhibit isoattenuation in these phases, hindering detection. OBJECTIVE. The purpose of this study was to assess the impact on diagnostic performance in detection of small PDAC when a delayed phase is added to dual-phase contrast-enhanced CT. METHODS. A database of 571 patients who underwent triple-phase (pancreatic, portal venous, and delayed) contrast-enhanced MDCT between January 2017 and March 2020 for suspected pancreatic tumor was retrospectively reviewed. A total of 97 patients had pathologically confirmed small PDAC (mean size, 22 mm; range, 7-30 mm). Twenty control patients had no pancreatic tumor suspected on CT, on initial MRI and follow-up CT, or on MRI after 12 months or longer. Three radiologists independently reviewed dual-phase and triple-phase images. Two additional radiologists assessed tumors' visual attenuation on each phase, reaching consensus for differences. Performance of dual- and triple-phase images were compared using ROC analysis, McNemar test, and Fisher exact test. RESULTS. AUC was higher (p < .05) for triple-phase than dual-phase images for all observers (observer 1, 0.97 vs 0.94; observer 2, 0.97 vs 0.94; observer 3, 0.97 vs 0.95). Sensitivity was higher (p < .001) for triple-phase than dual-phase images for all observers (observer 1, 74.2% [72/97] vs 59.8% [58/97]; observer 2, 88.7% [86/97] vs 71.1% [69/97]; observer 3, 86.6% [84/97] vs 72.2% [70/97]). Specificity, PPV, and NPV did not differ between image sets for any reader (p ≥ .05). Seventeen tumors showed pancreatic phase visual isoattenuation, of which nine showed isoattenuation and eight hyperattenuation in the delayed phase. Of these 17 tumors, 16 were not detected by any observer on dual-phase images; of these 16, six were detected by at least two observers and five by at least one observer on triple-phase images. Visual attenuation showed excellent interob-server agreement (κ = 0.89-0.96). CONCLUSION. Addition of a delayed phase to pancreatic and portal venous phase CT increases sensitivity for small PDAC without loss of specificity, partly related to delayed phase hyperattenuation of some small PDACs showing pancreatic phase isoattenuation. CLINICAL IMPACT. Addition of a delayed phase may facilitate earlier PDAC detection and thus improved prognosis.

Failure patterns and outcomes of dose escalation of stereotactic body radiotherapy for locally advanced pancreatic cancer: a multicenter cohort study

Objective

This study aims to compare recurrence patterns and outcomes of biologically effective dose (BED₁₀, α/β = 10) of 60-70 Gy with those of a BED₁₀ >70 Gy for locally advanced pancreatic cancer (LAPC).

Methods

Patients from three centers with a biopsy and a radiographically proven LAPC were retrospectively included and data were prospectively collected from June 2012 to June 2019. Radiotherapy was delivered by stereotactic body radiation therapy. Recurrences were categorized as in-field, marginal, and outside-the-field recurrence. Patients in two groups were required to receive abdominal enhanced contrast CT or MRI every 2-3 months and CA19-9 examinations every month during follow-up. Treatment-related toxicities were evaluated every month. Overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) were estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method.

Results

After propensity score matching, there were 486 patients in each group. The median prescription dose of the two groups was 37 Gy/5-8 f (range: 36-40.8 Gy/5-8 f) and 42 Gy/5-8 f (range: 40-49.6 Gy/5-8 f), respectively. The median OS of patients with a BED₁₀ >70 Gy and a BED₁₀ 60-70 Gy was 20.3 months (95% CI: 19.1-21.5 months) and 18.2 months (95% CI: 17.8-18.6 months) respectively (p < 0.001). The median PFS of the two cohorts was 15.4 months (95% CI: 14.2-16.6 months) and 13.3 months (95% CI: 12.9-13.7 months) respectively (p < 0.001). A higher incidence of in-field and marginal recurrence was found in patients with BED₁₀ of 60-70 Gy (in-field: 97/486 versus 72/486, p = 0.034; marginal: 109/486 versus 84/486, p = 0.044). However, more patients with BED₁₀ >70 Gy had grade 2 or 3 acute (87/486 versus 64/486, p = 0.042) and late gastrointestinal toxicities (77/486 versus 55/486, p = 0.039) than those with BED₁₀ of 60-70 Gy.

Conclusion

BED₁₀ >70 Gy was found to have the best survival benefits along with a higher incidence of acute and late gastrointestinal toxicities. Therefore, a higher dose may be required in the case of patients' good tolerance.

Modeling human pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma for translational research: current options, challenges, and prospective directions

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is a devastating malignancy with one of the lowest survival rates. Early detection, an improved understanding of tumor biology, and novel therapeutic discoveries are needed in order to improve overall patient survival. Scientific progress towards meeting these goals relies upon accurate modeling of the human disease. From two-dimensional (2D) cell lines to the advanced modeling available today, we aim to characterize the critical tools in efforts to further understand PDAC biology. The National Center for Biotechnology Information's PubMed and the Elsevier's SCOPUS were used to perform a comprehensive literature review evaluating preclinical human-derived PDAC models. Keywords included pancreatic cancer, PDAC, preclinical models, KRAS mutations, xenograft, co-culturing fibroblasts, co-culturing lymphocytes and PDAC immunotherapy Initial search was limited to articles about PDAC and was then expanded to include other gastrointestinal malignancies where information may complement our effort. A supervised review of the key literature's references was utilized to augment the capture of relevant data. The discovery and refinement of techniques enabling immortalized 2D cell culture provided the cornerstone for modern cancer biology research. Cell lines have been widely used to represent PDAC in vitro but are limited in capacity to model three-dimensional (3D) tumor attributes and interactions within the tumor microenvironment. Xenografts are an alternative method to model PDAC with improved capacity to understand certain aspects of 3D tumor biology in vivo while limited by the use of immunodeficient mice. Advances of in vitro modeling techniques have led to 3D organoid models for PDAC biology. Co-culturing models in the 3D environment have been proposed as an efficient modeling system for improving upon the limitations encountered in the standard 2D and xenograft tumor models. The integrated network of cells and stroma that comprise PDAC in vivo need to be accurately depicted ex vivo to continue to make progress in this disease. Recapitulating the complex tumor microenvironment in a preclinical model of human disease is an outstanding and urgent need in PDAC. Definitive characterization of available human models for PDAC serves to further the core mission of pancreatic cancer translational research.

Percutaneous Radiofrequency Ablation for Metachronous Hepatic Metastases after Curative Resection of Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma

OBJECTIVE

To retrospectively evaluate the safety and efficacy of percutaneous radiofrequency ablation (RFA) in patients with metachronous hepatic metastases arising from pancreatic adenocarcinoma who had previously received curative surgery.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Between 2002 and 2017, percutaneous RFA was performed on 94 metachronous hepatic metastases (median diameter, 1.5 cm) arising from pancreatic cancer in 60 patients (mean age, 60.5 years). Patients were included if they had fewer than five metastases, a maximum tumor diameter of ≤ 5 cm, and disease confined to the liver or stable extrahepatic disease. For comparisons during the same period, we included 66 patients who received chemotherapy only and met the same eligibility criteria described.

RESULTS

Technical success was achieved in all hepatic metastasis without any procedure-related mortality. During follow-up, local tumor progression of treated lesions was observed in 38.3% of the tumors. Overall median survival and 3-year survival rates were 12 months and 0%, respectively from initial RFA, and 14.7 months and 2.1%, respectively from the first diagnosis of liver metastasis. Multivariate analysis showed that a large tumor diameter of > 1.5 cm, a late TNM stage (≥ IIB) before curative surgery, a time from surgery to recurrence of < 1 year, and the presence of extrahepatic metastasis, were all prognostic of reduced overall survival after RFA. Median overall (12 months vs. 9.1 months, p = 0.094) and progression-free survival (5 months vs. 3.3 months, p = 0.068) were higher in the RFA group than in the chemotherapy group with borderline statistical difference.

CONCLUSION

RFA is safe and may offer successful local tumor control in patients with metachronous hepatic metastases arising from pancreatic adenocarcinoma. Patients with a small diameter tumor, early TNM stage before curative surgery, late hepatic recurrence, and liver-only metastasis benefit most from RFA treatment. RFA provided better survival outcomes than chemotherapy for this specific group with borderline statistical difference.

Investigating disparities: the effect of social environment on pancreatic cancer survival in metastatic patients

Background

Pancreatic adenocarcinoma (PCA) incidence is higher in Black compared to White patients. Beyond race, neighborhood socioeconomic status (nSES) may also inform disparities. However, these effects on metastatic pancreatic adenocarcinoma (mPCA) are not well-studied. The aim of this study was to explore whether nSES influences survival in patients with mPCA.

Methods

nSES measures were derived from U.S. census data at the census tract (CT) level. We correlated medical records of mPCA patients (diagnosed 2010-2016; n=370) to nSES measures retrospectively via a geocode derived from patient address. Multivariable cox proportional hazards models were used to identify patient-level (age, sex, race, marital status, treatment (radiation/chemo/surgery), PCA family history, stage, Jewish ancestry, tobacco use, BMI, diabetes, and statin use) and nSES measures (deprivation, racial concentration, stability, transportation access, immigration) associated with mPCA survival; P values <0.05 were significant.

Results

Eighty-two percent of patients were White; less than one-third of patients resided in highly deprived neighborhoods. Three hundred thirty-three mPCA patient deaths occurred, with a survival ranging from 7-9 months (median 8 months). Patient-level factors including younger age, receipt of chemotherapy or initial surgery and statin use, were associated with improved survival, whereas neighborhood stability (i.e., a higher % of residents still living in the same house as 1 year ago) was significantly associated with poor pancreatic survival.

Conclusions

Our findings suggest nSES has limited effect on survival of mPCA patients as compared to clinical variables. This may be due to the aggressive nature of this cancer, however, additional studies with larger, more diverse cohorts are needed to better understand the effect of nSES on survival of patients with mPCA.

Staging laparoscopy is mandatory for the treatment of pancreatic cancer to avoid missing radiologically negative metastases

PURPOSE

Staging laparoscopy is considered useful for determining treatment plans for advanced pancreatic cancer. However, the indications for staging laparoscopy are not clear. This study aimed to evaluate the safety of staging laparoscopy and its usefulness for detecting distant metastases in patients with pancreatic cancer.

METHODS

A total of 146 patients with pancreatic cancer who underwent staging laparoscopy between 2013 and 2019 were analyzed. Staging laparoscopy was performed in all pancreatic cancer patients in whom surgery was considered possible.

RESULTS

In this cohort, 42 patients (29%) were diagnosed with malignant cells on peritoneal lavage cytology, 9 (6%) had peritoneal dissemination, and 11 (8%) had liver metastases. A total of 48 (33%) had radiologically negative metastases. On a multivariate analysis, body and tail cancer [odds ratio (OR) 5.00, 95% confidence interval (CI) 2.15-11.6, p < 0.001], high CA19-9 level [OR 4.04, 95% CI 1.74-9.38, p = 0.001], and a resectability status of unresectable (OR 2.31, 95% CI 1.03-5.20, p = 0.04) were independent risk factors for radiologically negative metastases.

CONCLUSIONS

Staging laparoscopy can be safely performed and is useful for the diagnosis of radiologically negative metastases. Staging laparoscopy should be routinely performed for the accurate diagnosis of pancreatic cancer patients before pancreatectomy and/or local treatment, such as radiotherapy.

Bitter melon juice intake with gemcitabine intervention circumvents resistance to gemcitabine in pancreatic patient-derived xenograft tumors

Chemoresistance to gemcitabine (GEM)-a frontline chemotherapeutic, resulting from its dysfunctional uptake and metabolism in cancer cells, is a major contributing factor for failed therapy in pancreatic cancer (PanC) patients. Therefore, there is an urgent need for agents that could reverse GEM resistance and allow continued chemosensitivity to the drug. We employed natural nontoxic agent (with anti-PanC potential) bitter melon juice (BMJ) and GEM to examine their combinatorial benefits against tumorigenesis of PanC patient-derived xenograft (PDX)-pancreatic ductal adenocarcinomas explants PDX272 (wild-type KRAS), PDX271 (mutant KRAS and SMAD4), and PDX266 (mutant KRAS). Anti-PanC efficacy of single agents vs combination in the three tumor explants, both at the end of active dosing regimen and following a drug-washout phase were compared. In animal studies, GEM alone treatment significantly inhibited PDX tumor growth, but effects were not sustained, as GEM-treated tumors exhibited regrowth posttreatment termination. However, combination-regimen displayed enhanced and sustained efficacy. Mechanistic assessments revealed that overcoming GEM resistance by coadministration with BMJ was possibly due to modulation of GEM transport/metabolism pathway molecules (ribonucleotide reductase regulatory subunit M1, human equilibrative nucleoside transporter 1, and deoxycytidine kinase). Study outcomes, highlighting significantly higher and sustained efficacy of GEM in combination with BMJ, make a compelling case for a clinical trial in PanC patients, wherein BMJ could be combined with GEM to target and overcome GEM resistance. In addition, given their specific effectiveness against KRAS-mutant tumors, this combination could be potentially beneficial to a broader PanC patient population.

The Role of Location of Tumor in the Prognosis of the Pancreatic Cancer

Identification of prognostic factors is important to improve treatment outcomes in pancreatic cancer. This study aimed to investigate the effect of the location of pancreatic cancer on survival and to determine whether it was a significant prognostic factor. Altogether, 2483 patients diagnosed with pancreatic cancer were examined. Comparative analysis of clinicopathologic characteristics, survival analysis, and multivariate analysis were performed. Cancers of the pancreatic head or the uncinate process were present in 49.5% of patients. The head/uncinate cancers had more clinical T1/T2 tumors (59.4% vs. 35.5%, p < 0.001) and a significantly higher 5-year survival rate (8.9% vs. 7.3%, p < 0.001) than the body/tail cancers. The 5-year survival rate in patients with head/uncinate cancers was significantly lower in the resectable (p = 0.014) and the locally advanced groups (p = 0.007). In patients who underwent resection with curative intent, the 5-year survival rate was lower in the head/uncinate group (p = 0.046). The overall outcome of the head/uncinate cancers was better than the body/tail cancers, due to the high proportion of resectable cases. In patients who underwent curative resection, the head/uncinate cancers had a higher number of T1/T2 tumors, but worse outcomes. In the multivariate analysis, tumor location was not an independent prognostic factor for pancreatic cancer.

Biliary Tract Carcinogenesis Model Based on Bile Metaproteomics

Purpose: To analyze human and bacteria proteomic profiles in bile, exposed to a tumor vs. non-tumor microenvironment, in order to identify differences between these conditions, which may contribute to a better understanding of pancreatic carcinogenesis.

Patients and Methods: Using liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry, human and bacterial proteomic profiles of a total of 20 bile samples (7 from gallstone (GS) patients, and 13 from pancreatic head ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) patients) that were collected during surgery and taken directly from the gallbladder, were compared. g:Profiler and KEGG (Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes) Mapper Reconstruct Pathway were used as the main comparative platform focusing on over-represented biological pathways among human proteins and interaction pathways among bacterial proteins.

Results: Three bacterial infection pathways were over-represented in the human PDAC group of proteins. IL-8 is the only human protein that coincides in the three pathways and this protein is only present in the PDAC group. Quantitative and qualitative differences in bacterial proteins suggest a dysbiotic microenvironment in the PDAC group, supported by significant participation of antibiotic biosynthesis enzymes. Prokaryotes interaction signaling pathways highlight the presence of zeatin in the GS group and surfactin in the PDAC group, the former in the metabolism of terpenoids and polyketides, and the latter in both metabolisms of terpenoids, polyketides and quorum sensing. Based on our findings, we propose a bacterial-induced carcinogenesis model for the biliary tract.

Conclusion: To the best of our knowledge this is the first study with the aim of comparing human and bacterial bile proteins in a tumor vs. non-tumor microenvironment. We proposed a new carcinogenesis model for the biliary tract based on bile metaproteomic findings. Our results suggest that bacteria may be key players in biliary tract carcinogenesis, in a long-lasting dysbiotic and epithelially harmful microenvironment, in which specific bacterial species' biofilm formation is of utmost importance. Our finding should be further explored in future using in vitro and in vivo investigations.

Stage IA Patients With Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma Cannot Benefit From Chemotherapy: A Propensity Score Matching Study

Purpose: Adjuvant chemotherapy following resection is recommended by clinical practice guidelines for all patients with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of adjuvant chemotherapy among the staging groups of the American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) for PDAC.

Patients and Methods: This retrospective cohort analysis was performed by the Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) (2004–2015) database and multi-institutional dataset (2010–2018). Baseline clinicopathologic characteristics of PDAC patients, including age, gender, ethnicity, marital status, education level, county income level, county unemployed rate, insurance status, grade, stage, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy, were collected. Overall survival (OS) was analyzed using the Kaplan–Meier method. The SEER and multi-institutional data were adjusted with 1:1 ratio propensity score matching (PSM).

Results: In total, 6,274 and 1,361 PDAC patients were included from the SEER database and multi-institutional dataset, respectively. Regardless of the count of resected lymph nodes, adjuvant chemotherapy prolonged the long-term OS time for stage IB, IIA, IIB, and III patients in both SEER and multi-institutional cohorts. Nevertheless, adjuvant chemotherapy did not provide additional clinical benefits even after a PSM adjustment for stage IA patients in both SEER and multi-institutional cohorts.

Conclusion: Adjuvant chemotherapy improved the long-term survival of stage IB, IIA, IIB, and III PDAC patients; however, it demonstrated no survival benefit in stage IA PDAC patients. Thus, adjuvant chemotherapy should not be recommended for stage IA PDAC patients. These would significantly reduce the economic burden of society and improve the life quality of stage IA PDAC patients.

Role of microRNA-33a in malignant cells

Cancer causes most of the mortality and morbidity worldwide, with a significant increase in incidence during recent years. MicroRNAs (miRNAs/miRs) are non-coding small RNAs capable of regulating gene expression. They regulate crucial cellular processes, including proliferation, differentiation, metastasis and apoptosis. Therefore, abnormal miRNA expression is associated with multiple diseases, including cancer. There are two types of cancer-associated miRNAs, oncogenic and tumor suppressor miRNAs, depending on their roles and expression patterns in cancer. Accordingly, miRNAs are considered to be targets for cancer prevention and treatment. miR-33a controls cellular cholesterol uptake and synthesis, which are both closely associated with carcinogenesis. The present review thoroughly describes the roles of miR-33a in more than a dozen types of cancer and the underlying mechanisms. Accordingly, the present review may serve as a guide for researchers studying the involvement of miR-33a in diverse cancer settings.

Comparable prevalence of distant metastasis and survival of different primary site for LN + pancreatic tumor

Background

Few studies have delved into the prevalence of distant metastasis (DM +) and survival for patients with lymph node metastases (LN +) by primary site. We aimed to detect differences in distant metastasis and prognosis between pancreatic head and bodytail tumors for LN + patients.

Methods

Patients with chemotherapy, histologically diagnosed, primary site between 2004 and 2016 were included from the SEER (Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results) database. Pancreatic head tumors were compared with pancreatic bodytail tumors using the odds ratio (OR) for rates of distant metastasis, hazard ratios (HR) for overall survival (OS) and cancer-specific survival (CSS). The competing risk model and propensity score matching (PSM) were performed to further explore.

Results

Of 5726 LN + patients identified from the SEER database, pancreatic head tumors account for 85.2% (4877 of 5726) and 14.8% (849 of 5726) were pancreatic bodytail tumors. The incidence of DM was lower in pancreatic head than in pancreatic bodytail tumors (OR, 0.29; 95% CI 0.23–0.37; P < 0.001). The multivariate Cox regression show pancreatic head tumors have a significantly shorter survival rate relative to pancreatic bodytail (HR, 1.12; 95% CI 1.03–1.22; P = 0.008), but the primary site was not a significant independent risk factor for prognosis by log-rank test (P = 0.39) and multivariate competing risk model [subdistribution HR (SHR), 1.08; 95% CI 0.98–1.19; P = 0.087].We then examined our conclusion by 1:1 propensity score matching, and the result reflected pancreatic head tumors have a lower risk of DM compared with pancreatic bodytail tumors (OR, 0.22; 95% CI 0.15–0.34; P < 0.001), but the primary site of pancreatic tumors was not associated with LN + patient survival based on univariate Cox regression (HR, 1.04; 95% CI 0.93–1.17; P = 0.435) and competing risk analysis (SHR, 1.01; 95% CI 0.89–1.12; P = 0.947).

Conclusions

LN + pancreatic head tumors were significantly lower risk of DM relative to pancreatic bodytail tumors. Survival outcome in LN + pancreatic tumors didn’t exist significant differences split by primary site, which indicates that the prognosis of LN + patients with chemotherapy isn’t associated with the primary site of metastasis, but with the occurrence of metastasis.

Synchronous arterial resections in pancreatic cancer - still a matter of debate?

Surgery remains the cornerstone of a multimodality approach aimed at cure in pancreatic cancer (PC). To improve outcomes in PC and widen the indications for surgical resection, surgeons have targeted borderline-resectable (BR) and locally advanced (LA) tumours having demonstrated the feasibility of synchronous arterial (SAR) and venous resections (SVR). However, the true benefit of SARs in PC in terms of improving overall survival has not been fully realised. One of the reasons for this lies in the fact that once the tumour involves the artery, it has already spread along the perineural autonomic plexus that surround it, resulting in early extended local and distant cancer dissemination. Thus, before advocating for the performance of routine SARs in PC, it is important to critically analyse the evidence and develop a structured framework to test if these operations truly hold a beacon of hope for patients with LAPC.

Clinical impacts of resection margin status and clinicopathologic parameters on pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma

Background

The clinical relevance of pancreatic intraepithelial neoplasia (PanIN) at the resection margin of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma remains unknown. We aimed to investigate its clinical impact at the pancreatic transection margin (PTM) and, based on the result, determine the prognostic values of the resection margin status and other clinicopathologic parameters.

Patients and methods

We retrospectively analyzed 122 consecutive patients who underwent pancreatoduodenectomy or distal pancreatectomy between 2006 and 2018. Pathologic slides were reviewed and survival data were retrieved from institutional databases. Associations between two variables were investigated by Fisher’s exact test. Survival curves were generated by the Kaplan-Meier method. Prognostic factors were assessed using Cox regression analysis.

Results

Tumors were resected without leaving macroscopic remnants. The median follow-up period after surgery was 524.5 days. Cancer-related death (n = 72) was marginally and significantly associated with local recurrence (n = 22) and distant metastasis (n = 79), respectively. Local recurrence and distant metastasis occurred independently. After excluding cases with invasive cancer at any other margin, PanIN-2 or PanIN-3 (n = 21) at the PTM did not adversely affect prognoses compared with normal mucosa or PanIN-1 (n = 57) with statistical significance. R0 resection (n = 78), which is invasive cancer-free at all resection margins, showed somewhat better local recurrence-free and overall survivals as compared with R1 resection (n = 44), which involves invasive cancer at any resection margin, but the differences did not reach statistical significance. In contrast, differentiation grade and nodal metastasis were significant predictors of distant metastasis, and tumor location and differentiation grade were significant predictors of cancer-related death. Although there was no significant difference in differentiation grade between the head cancer and the body or tail cancer, nodal metastasis was significantly more frequent in the former than in the latter.

Conclusions

PanINs at the PTM did not adversely affect prognosis and R0 resection was not found to be a significant prognostic factor. Differentiation grade might be an indicator of occult metastasis and affect patients’ overall survival through distant metastasis. In addition to successful surgical procedures, tumor biology may be even more important as a predictor of postoperative prognosis.

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma with mismatch repair deficiency resected after long-term observation

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) with mismatch repair (MMR) deficiency is a rare subtype, clinicopathological features of which have not been fully understood. A 70-year-old woman was admitted for the investigation of a 20-mm pancreatic tumor in the pancreatic head, detected during the cause scrutiny of exacerbation of diabetes mellitus and panhypopituitarism. The tumor decreased in size after administration of hydrocortisone for panhypopituitarism. Autoimmune pancreatitis, complicated with hypophysitis, was suspected, and prednisolone treatment was administered. The tumor did not show enlargement for 3 years during which a dose of prednisolone was maintained. However, 1.5 years after the cessation of prednisolone administration, the tumor size increased again. On endoscopic ultrasonography, the tumor was found to be a 25.2-mm mass lesion with almost uniformly low echogenicity and blood flow signal, and anisonucleosis on cytodiagnosis was revealed. Pancreatoduodenectomy was performed, and on histological analysis, moderately differentiated tubular adenocarcinoma with massive lymphocytic infiltration was observed. Immunohistochemistry revealed a concomitant loss of MSH2 and MSH6 in the tumor cells, which implicated mutant MSH2 gene. She has remained well with no recurrence for 2.9 years since her surgery. We herein report a case of PDAC with MMR deficiency, resected after long-term observation.

Adult Pancreatic Acinar Progenitor-like Populations in Regeneration and Cancer

The bulk of the pancreas primarily comprises long-lived acinar cells that are not considered a bona fide source for stem cells. However, certain acinar subpopulations have a repopulating capacity during regeneration, raising the hypothesis as to the presence of regenerative progenitor-like populations in the adult pancreas. Here, we describe recent discoveries based on fate-mapping techniques that support the existence of progenitor-like acinar subpopulations, including active progenitor-like cells that maintain tissue homeostasis and facultative progenitor-like cells that drive tissue regeneration. A possible link between progenitor-like acinar cells and cancer initiators is proposed. Further analysis of these cellular components is needed, because it would help uncover possible cellular sources for regeneration and cancer, as well as potential targets for therapy.