Background: To describe, in patients with resectable pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), the laparotomy findings, treatments and outcomes before (period 1) and after 2010 (period 2).
Methods: From 2000 to 2015, patients newly diagnosed with resectable PDAC at Paoli-Calmettes Institute, France, were evaluated. Survival was examined using the Kaplan-Meier method, and statistical comparisons were conducted using log rank tests.
Results: Among 1175 patients diagnosed with pancreatic mass, 164 underwent laparotomy with an intention of pancreatic resection. Some of them did not undergo pancreatic resection due to peroperative discovery of advanced disease. For those who were finally resected (n = 119), there were fewer pancreaticoduodenectomies (p = 0.045), shorter operation times (p < 0.01), lower mortality rates (p = 0.02), more advanced-stage tumors (T3), more frequent perineural invasion and R1 resection in period 2. This group had a trend of better outcomes after 2010 (51 months vs. 36 months (p = 0.065)).
Conclusion: Improvement in surgical procedures and postoperative management led to prolonged survival of those who underwent surgery for resectable pancreatic cancer since 2010, despite a higher frequency of advanced tumors at the diagnosis in our institution.
Keywords: Laparotomy; Pancreatic adenocarcinoma; Resectable tumor; Survival.
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