Pancreatoduodenectomy (PD) is a complex abdominal surgery, and the adoption of robotic PD has been on the rise because of its numerous benefits. This study aimed to investigate the current PD trends, focusing on advancements in robotic surgery.
Carbohydrate antigen 19-9 (CA 19-9) is a representative tumor marker used for the diagnosis of pancreatic and biliary tract cancers. There are few published research results that can be applied to actual clinical practice for ampullary cancer (AC) alone. This study aimed to demonstrate the relationship between the prognosis of AC and the level of CA 19-9, and to determine the optimal thresholds.Patients who underwent curative resection (pancreaticoduodenectomy (PD) or pylorus preserving pancreaticoduodenectomy (PPPD)) for AC at the Seoul National University Hospital between January 2000 and December 2017 were enrolled. To determine the optimal cutoff values that could clearly stratify the survival outcome, the conditional inference tree (C-tree) method was used. After obtaining the optimal cutoff values, they were compared to the upper normal clinical limit of 36 U/mL for CA 19-9. Results In total, 385 patients were enrolled in this study. The median value of the tumor marker CA 19-9 was 18.6 U/mL. Using the C-tree method, 46 U/mL was determined to be the optimal cutoff value for CA 19-9. Histological differentiation, N stage, and adjuvant chemotherapy were significant predictors. CA 19-9 36 U/mL had marginal significance as a prognostic factor. In contrast, the new cutoff value, CA 19-9 46 U/mL, was found to be a statistically significant prognostic factor (HR: 1.37, p = 0.048).The new cutoff value of CA 19-9 46 U/mL may be used for evaluating the prognosis of AC. Therefore, it may be an effective indicator for determining treatment strategies such as surgical treatments and adjuvant chemotherapy.
Highlight Jung and colleagues demonstrated the feasibility of single-port laparoscopic multiple liver resection using the lift-up technique and the parallel method. In this video they present their technique, indicating the new possibility of hepatectomy using the ordinary skills of laparoscopic hepatectomy through a single port.
In an era of more effective chemotherapy for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), the paradigm of local treatment is changing. However, the efficacy of local treatment in patients with isolated liver metastasis remains unclear. Therefore, we aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of pancreatectomy ± local treatment for metastasis (cytoreductive surgery) in PDAC patients with isolated synchronous liver metastasis.In total, 239 patients with isolated liver metastasis were extracted from Seoul National University Hospital (SNUH). For comparison, another 12 637 patients were extracted from the National Cancer Database (NCDB). Propensity score matching was performed to minimize confounding in both cohorts. Survival analyses stratified by the treatment delivered were performed using Kaplan-Meier estimates and log-rank tests.In the SNUH cohort, the median (interquartile range) survival was 20.5 (13.0-42.0) months for patients who underwent cytoreductive surgery plus chemotherapy versus 12.0 (10.0-18.0) months for those who received chemotherapy alone (P < .001). With the NCDB cohort, the median (interquartile range) survival was 15.6 (8.9-31.2) months for patients who underwent cytoreductive surgery plus chemotherapy versus 7.4 (3.4-13.2) months for those who received chemotherapy alone (P < .001).Patients with isolated synchronous liver metastasis should be considered for cytoreductive surgery in addition to effective chemotherapy.