Survival Benefit Associated With Resection of Locally Advanced Pancreatic Cancer Following Upfront FOLFIRINOX versus FOLFIRINOX Only: Multicenter Propensity Score-Matched Analysis

Executive Summary of the American Radium Society Appropriate Use Criteria for Neoadjuvant Therapy for Nonmetastatic Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma: Systematic Review and Guidelines

For patients with locoregionally confined pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), margin-negative surgical resection is the only known curative treatment; however, the majority of patients are not operable candidates at initial diagnosis. Among patients with resectable disease who undergo surgery alone, the 5-year survival remains poor. Adjuvant therapies, including systemic therapy or chemoradiation, are utilized as they improve locoregional control and overall survival. There has been increasing interest in the use of neoadjuvant therapy to obtain early control of occult metastatic disease, allow local tumor response to facilitate margin-negative resection, and provide a test of time and biology to assist with the selection of candidates most likely to benefit from radical surgical resection. However, limited guidance exists regarding the relative effectiveness of treatment options. In this systematic review, the American Radium Society multidisciplinary gastrointestinal expert panel convened to develop Appropriate Use Criteria evaluating the evidence regarding neoadjuvant treatment for patients with PDAC, including surgery, systemic therapy, and radiotherapy, in terms of oncologic outcomes and quality of life. The evidence was assessed using the Population, Intervention, Comparator, Outcome, and Study (PICOS) design framework and "Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses" 2020 methodology. Eligible studies included phases 2 to 3 trials, meta-analyses, and retrospective analyses published between January 1, 2012 and December 30, 2022 in the Ovid Medline database. A summary of recommendations based on the available literature is outlined to guide practitioners in the management of patients with PDAC.

Preoperative chemotherapy, radiotherapy and surgical decision-making in patients with borderline resectable and locally advanced pancreatic cancer

Surgical resection combined with systemic chemotherapy is the cornerstone of treatment for patients with localized pancreatic cancer. Upfront surgery is considered suboptimal in cases with extensive vascular involvement, which can be classified as either borderline resectable pancreatic cancer or locally advanced pancreatic cancer. In these patients, FOLFIRINOX or gemcitabine plus nab-paclitaxel chemotherapy is currently used as preoperative chemotherapy and is eventually combined with radiotherapy. Thus, more patients might reach 5-year overall survival. Patient selection for chemotherapy, radiotherapy and subsequent surgery is based on anatomical, biological and conditional parameters. Current guidelines and clinical practices vary considerably regarding preoperative chemotherapy and radiotherapy, response evaluation, and indications for surgery. In this Review, we provide an overview of the clinical evidence regarding disease staging, preoperative therapy, response evaluation and surgery in patients with borderline resectable pancreatic cancer or locally advanced pancreatic cancer. In addition, a clinical work-up is proposed based on the available evidence and guidelines. We identify knowledge gaps and outline a proposed research agenda.

Anatomical and Biological Considerations to Determine Resectability in Pancreatic Cancer

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) remains associated with poor outcomes with a 5-year survival of 12% across all stages of the disease. These poor outcomes are driven by a delay in diagnosis and an early propensity for systemic dissemination of the disease. Recently, aggressive surgical approaches involving complex vascular resections and reconstructions have become more common, thus allowing more locally advanced tumors to be resected. Unfortunately, however, even after the completion of surgery and systemic therapy, approximately 40% of patients experience early recurrence of disease. To determine resectability, many institutions utilize anatomical staging systems based on the presence and extent of vascular involvement of major abdominal vessels around the pancreas. However, these classification systems are based on anatomical considerations only and do not factor in the burden of systemic disease. By integrating the biological criteria, we possibly could avoid futile resections often associated with significant morbidity. Especially patients with anatomically resectable disease who have a heavy burden of radiologically undetected systemic disease most likely do not derive a survival benefit from resection. On the contrary, we could offer complex resections to those who have locally advanced or oligometastatic disease but have favorable systemic biology and are most likely to benefit from resection. This review summarizes the current literature on defining anatomical and biological resectability in patients with pancreatic cancer.

The clinical impact of early recurrence and its recurrence patterns in patients with gallbladder carcinoma after radical resection

BACKGROUND

It is common for patients with gallbladder carcinoma (GBC) to develop recurrence shortly after radical resection. We aimed to investigate the risk factors of early recurrence (ER) and its recurrence patterns and further analyze the effect of adjuvant chemotherapy (ACT) on ER and non-ER patients for decision-making in clinical practice.

METHODS

A total of 276 patients who underwent radical resection for GBC were retrospectively analyzed. Factors associated with overall survival (OS) and recurrence free survival (RFS) were identified using the Cox proportional hazard regression model, whereas ER was investigated using univariate and multivariable logistic regression models.

RESULTS

The results indicated that 23.2% (64/276) of GBC patients developed ER after radical resection. ER was determined to be an independent risk factor for OS in patients with GBC after resection (P < 0.05). CA125, liver invasion, T stage, and N stage were independently associated with ER (P < 0.05). N1/N2 stage disease was an independent risk factor for OS, RFS and ER, and had a better predictive value in identifying ER than the other three variables associated with ER (P < 0.05). The liver and lymph nodes were the main first recurrence sites, and ER patients had a higher proportion of multisite recurrence. The prognosis of GBC patients with ER after radical resection differed significantly depending on whether ACT was provided, with ACT demonstrated to improve their prognosis (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

Early recurrence after radical resection indicates a very poor prognosis in GBC and can be used to identify those who will benefit from ACT.

"Conversion surgery" for locally advanced pancreatic cancer: A position paper by the study group at the joint meeting of the International Association of Pancreatology (IAP) & Japan Pancreas Society (JPS) 2022

Locally advanced pancreatic cancer (LAPC), which progresses locally and surrounds major vessels, has historically been deemed unresectable. Surgery alone failed to provide curative resection and improve overall survival. With the advancements in treatment, reports have shown favorable results in LAPC after undergoing successful chemotherapy therapy or chemoradiation therapy followed by surgical resection, so-called "conversion surgery", at experienced high-volume centers. However, recognizing significant regional and institutional disparities in the management of LAPC, an international consensus meeting on conversion surgery for LAPC was held during the Joint Congress of the 26th Meeting of the International Association of Pancreatology (IAP) and the 53rd Annual Meeting of Japan Pancreas Society (JPS) in Kyoto in July 2022. During the meeting, presenters reported the current best multidisciplinary practices for LAPC, including preoperative modalities, best systemic treatment regimens and durations, procedures of conversion surgery with or without vascular resections, biomarkers, and genetic studies. It was unanimously agreed among the experts in this meeting that "cancer biology is surpassing locoregional anatomical resectability" in the era of effective multiagent treatment. The biology of pancreatic cancer has yet to be further elucidated, and we believe it is essential to improve the treatment outcomes of LAPC patients through continued efforts from each institution and more international collaboration. This article summarizes the agreement during the discussion amongst the experts in the meeting. We hope that this will serve as a foundation for future international collaboration and recommendations for future guidelines.

Textbook outcome in gallbladder carcinoma after curative-intent resection: a 10-year retrospective single-center study

BACKGROUND

Textbook outcome (TO) can guide decision-making among patients and clinicians during preoperative patient selection and postoperative quality improvement. We explored the factors associated with achieving a TO for gallbladder carcinoma (GBC) after curative-intent resection and analyzed the effect of adjuvant chemotherapy (ACT) on TO and non-TO patients.

METHODS

A total of 540 patients who underwent curative-intent resection for GBC at the Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery of the First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University from January 2011 to December 2020 were retrospectively analyzed. Multivariable logistic regression was used to investigate the factors associated with TO.

RESULTS

Among 540 patients with GBC who underwent curative-intent resection, 223 patients (41.3%) achieved a TO. The incidence of TO ranged from 19.0% to 51.0% across the study period, with a slightly increasing trend over the study period. The multivariate analysis showed that non-TO was an independent risk factor for prognosis among GBC patients after resection (P =0.003). Age ≤60 years (P =0.016), total bilirubin (TBIL) level ≤34.1 μmol/L (P <0.001), well-differentiated tumor (P =0.008), no liver involvement (P <0.001), and T1-2 stage disease (P =0.006) were independently associated with achieving a TO for GBC after resection. Before and after propensity score matching (PSM), the overall survival outcomes of non-TO GBC patients who received ACT and those who did not were statistically significant; ACT improved the prognosis of patients in the non-TO group (P <0.050).

CONCLUSION

Achieving a TO is associated with a better long-term prognosis among GBC patients after curative-intent resection, and ACT can improve the prognosis of those with non-TO.

A Bayesian Network Prediction Model for Microvascular Invasion in Patients with Intrahepatic Cholangiocarcinoma: A Multi-institutional Study

BACKGROUND

Microvascular invasion (MVI) has been reported to be an independent prognostic factor of recurrence and poor overall survival in patients with intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC). This study aimed to explore the preoperative independent risk factors of MVI and establish a Bayesian network (BN) prediction model to provide a reference for surgical diagnosis and treatment.

METHODS

A total of 531 patients with ICC who underwent radical resection between 2010 and 2018 were used to establish and validate a BN model for MVI. The BN model was established based on the preoperative independent variables. The ROC curves and confusion matrix were used to assess the performance of the model.

RESULTS

MVI was an independent risk factor for relapse-free survival (RFS) (P < 0.05). MVI has a correlation with postoperative recurrence, early recurrence (< 6 months), median RFS and median overall survival (all P < 0.05). The preoperative independent risk variables of MVI included obstructive jaundice, prognostic nutritional index, CA19-9, tumor size, and major vascular invasion, which were used to establish the BN model. The AUC of the BN model was 78.92% and 83.01%, and the accuracy was 70.85% and 77.06% in the training set and testing set, respectively.

CONCLUSION

The BN model established based on five independent risk variables for MVI is an effective and practical model for predicting MVI in patients with ICC.

A Prospective Study Using Propensity Score Matching to Compare Long-term Survival Outcomes After Robotic-assisted, Laparoscopic, or Open Liver Resection for Patients With BCLC Stage 0-A Hepatocellular Carcinoma

OBJECTIVE

To compare the short- and long-term outcomes of robot-assisted (RALR), laparoscopic (LLR), or open liver resection (OLR) in the treatment of Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer (BCLC) stage 0-A hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

SUMMARY BACKGROUND DATA

Following the Balliol IDEAL classification, long-term oncological outcomes can be used to evaluate the value of minimally invasive techniques in the treatment of HCC, and to assess whether they should become a standard practice.

METHODS

Data from prospective cohorts of patients with BCLC stage 0-A HCC who underwent curative liver resection using OLR, LLR, or RALR at Tongji Hospital were reviewed. The short-term and long-term oncological outcomes of these 3 different surgical approaches after adequate follow-up were compared using propensity score matching to reduce selection bias.

RESULTS

Of 369 patients included in this study (71, RALR; 141, LLR; and 157, OLR), 56 patients in each of the 3 groups were chosen for further comparison, after propensity score matching. In the minimally invasive group (RALR+LLR), both the operative time and duration of Pringle's maneuver were significantly longer than those in the OLR group; however, the length of hospital stay was significantly shorter. There were no significant differences in the other intraoperative parameters and the incidence of postoperative complications among the 3 groups. HCC recurrence in the minimally invasive group when compared with the OLR group was characterized by a significantly higher proportion of single lesion or early-stage HCC. However, there were no significant differences in the 5-year disease-free survival (63.8%, 54.4%, and 50.6%) or overall survival rates (80.8%, 78.6%, and 75.7%, respectively) among the 3 groups. Clinically significant portal hypertension was the only risk factor that negatively affected the 5-year disease-free survival rate. Multivariate Cox regression analysis showed that clinically significant portal hypertension, serum alpha-fetoprotein level (≥400 ng/mL), and Edmondson-Steiner grading (III+IV) were independent risk factors for poor long-term survival.

CONCLUSION

Both robotic and laparoscopic hepatectomies were safe and effective for patients with BCLC stage 0-A HCC when compared with open hepatectomy.

Prognostic and predictive value of CA 19-9 in locally advanced pancreatic cancer treated with multiagent induction chemotherapy: results from a prospective, multicenter phase II trial (NEOLAP-AIO-PAK-0113)

BACKGROUND

The prognostic and predictive value of carbohydrate antigen 19-9 (CA 19-9) in locally advanced pancreatic cancer (LAPC) has not yet been defined from prospective randomized controlled trials (RCTs).

PATIENTS AND METHODS

A total of 165 LAPC patients were treated within the NEOLAP RCT for 16 weeks with multiagent induction chemotherapy [ICT; either nab-paclitaxel/gemcitabine alone or nab-paclitaxel/gemcitabine followed by FOLFIRINOX (combination of fluorouracil, leucovorin, irinotecan, and oxaliplatin)] followed by surgical exploration of all patients without evidence of disease progression. CA 19-9 was determined at baseline and after ICT and correlated with overall survival (OS) and secondary R0 resection rate.

RESULTS

From the NEOLAP study population (N = 165) 133 patients (81%) were evaluable for CA 19-9 at baseline and 81/88 patients (92%) for post-ICT CA 19-9 response. Median OS (mOS) in the CA 19-9 cohort (n = 133) was 16.2 months [95% confidence interval (CI) 13.0-19.4] and R0 resection (n = 31; 23%) was associated with a significant survival benefit [40.8 months (95% CI 21.7-59.8)], while R1 resected patients (n = 14; 11%) had no survival benefit [14.0 (95% CI 11.7-16.3) months, hazard ratio (HR) 0.27; P = 0.001]. After ICT most patients showed a CA 19-9 response (median change from baseline: -82%; relative decrease ≥55%: 83%; absolute decrease to ≤50 U/ml: 43%). Robust CA 19-9 response (decrease to ≤50U/ml) was significantly associated with mOS [27.8 (95% CI 18.4-37.2) versus 16.5 (95% CI 11.7-21.2) months, HR 0.49; P = 0.013], whereas CA 19-9 baseline levels were not prognostic for OS. Multivariate analysis demonstrated that a robust CA 19-9 response was an independent predictive factor for R0 resection. Using a CA 19-9 decrease to ≤61 U/ml as optimal cut-off (by receiver operating characteristic analysis) yielded 72% sensitivity and 62% specificity for successful R0 resection, whereas CA 19-9 nonresponders (<20% decrease or increase) had no chance for successful R0 resection.

CONCLUSIONS

CA 19-9 response after multiagent ICT provides relevant prognostic and predictive information and is useful in selecting LAPC patients for explorative surgery.

CLINICAL TRIAL NUMBER

ClinicalTrials.govNCT02125136; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02125136; EudraCT 2013-004796-12; https://www.clinicaltrialsregister.eu/ctr-search/trial/2013-004796-12/results.

Fried food consumption and the risk of pancreatic cancer: A large prospective multicenter study

Background and aims

Whether fried food consumption is associated with the risk of pancreatic cancer remains elusive. We aimed to examine this association in a US population.

Methods

A population-based cohort of 101,729 US adults was identified. Fried food consumption was assessed with a validated food frequency questionnaire. Hazard ratios (HRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated. Explanatory analyses were conducted to identify main contributor(s) to the observed association.

Results

During an average follow-up of 8.86 years (900871.2 person-years), 402 pancreatic cancer cases occurred. High consumption of total fried foods (deep-fried plus pan-fried foods; HRquartile4 vs. 1 0.71, 95% CI 0.51-0.99, P trend = 0.047) and deep-fried foods (HRquartile 4 vs. 1 0.64, 95% CI 0.47-0.88, P trend = 0.011), but not pan-fried foods (HRquartile 4 vs. 1 0.98, 95% CI 0.73-1.32; P trend = 0.815), was found to be associated with a reduced risk of pancreatic cancer in a non-linear dose-response manner, which was not modified by predefined stratification factors and persisted in sensitivity analyses. In explanatory analyses, only chip consumption was found to be inversely associated with the risk of pancreatic cancer; consistently, the initial significant associations between total fried food and deep-fried food consumption and the risk of pancreatic cancer changed to be non-significant after omitting or further adjusting for chip consumption.

Conclusion

Consumption of deep-fried foods, but not pan-fried foods, is inversely associated with the risk of pancreatic cancer in this US population. The role of deep-fried foods in reducing the risk of pancreatic cancer appears to be mainly attributable to chips. More studies are needed to confirm our findings in other populations and settings.

Recurrence and prognosis in intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma patients with different etiology after radical resection: a multi-institutional study

Objective

We aimed to evaluate the prognosis and adjuvant chemotherapy (ACT) in intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC) patients with different etiology after radical resection.

Methods

A total of 448 patients with ICC who underwent radical resection between 2010 and 2018 at ten Chinese tertiary hospitals were analyzed in the study. These patients were divided into conventional ICC (Con-ICC, n = 261, 58.2%), hepatitis B virus ICC (HBV-ICC, n = 102, 22.8%) and hepatolithiasis (Stone-ICC, n = 85,19.0%) subtypes according to different etiology. Propensity score matching (PSM) was conducted to mitigate the baseline differences between Con-ICC and HBV-ICC, Con-ICC and Stone-ICC, HBV-ICC and Stone-ICC subtypes.

Results

Univariate and multivariate analysis showed that different etiology was a prognostic factor for overall survival and relapse-free survival, and different etiology was an independent risk factor for overall survival in ICC patients, respectively (P < 0.05). In addition, there was a statistical difference for overall survival in early recurrence patients among the three etiological subtypes (P < 0.05). After PSM, the overall survival of patients with Stone-ICC was worse than those of Con-ICC and HBV-ICC subtypes (P < 0.05), while the relapse-free survival of patients with Stone-ICC was equivalent to patients with Con-ICC and HBV-ICC (P > 0.05). In Stone-ICC patients, the median overall survival was 16.0 months and 29.7 months, and the median relapse-free survival was 9.0 months and 20.0 months for non-ACT and ACT patients, respectively (P < 0.05).

Conclusion

The prognosis of Stone-ICC patients was significantly worse than those of Con-ICC and HBV-ICC patients. Interestingly, postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy can improve the prognosis of Stone-ICC patients effectively.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12885-022-09448-w.

Type 2 diabetes prevention diet and the risk of pancreatic cancer: A large prospective multicenter study

BACKGROUND & AIMS

Type 2 diabetes prevention diet confers a lower risk of type 2 diabetes, which exhibits overlapping mechanisms with pancreatic cancer. We performed a prospective study to examine whether adherence to this dietary pattern is associated with a reduced risk of pancreatic cancer.

METHODS

A population-based cohort of 101,729 American adults was identified. A dietary diabetes risk reduction score was computed to reflect adherence to this dietary pattern, with higher scores representing greater adherence. Cox regression was used to compute hazard ratios (HRs) for pancreatic cancer incidence. Prespecified subgroup analyses were used to identify the potential effect modifiers.

RESULTS

After an average follow-up of 8.86 years (900,871.67 person-years), a total of 402 pancreatic cancer cases were observed. In the fully adjusted model, participants in the highest quartile of dietary diabetes risk reduction score were found to have a reduced risk of pancreatic cancer compared with those in the lowest quartile [HR_{quartiles 4versus1}: 0.62; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.44, 0.86; P_trend = 0.004], which remained in a series of sensitivity analyses. Subgroup analyses further found that this favorable association was more pronounced in current or former smokers (HR_{quartiles 4versus1}: 0.48; 95% CI: 0.30, 0.77) than in never smokers (HR_{quartiles 4versus1}: 0.71; 95% CI: 0.44, 1.15), although the interaction test did not reach statistical significance (P_interaction = 0.095).

CONCLUSIONS

Greater adherence to type 2 diabetes prevention diet is associated with a lower risk of pancreatic cancer in this US population. More studies are needed to confirm our findings.