Adjuvant Therapy Timing Impact on PDAC Prognosis: Significance in Transitional Circulating Tumor Cells

The study found that a delay in the initiation of adjuvant therapy in patients with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is associated with worse recurrence-free survival only in those who have transitional circulating tumor cells (trCTCs) after surgical resection. The presence of trCTCs and the absence of adjuvant therapy were both linked to poorer prognosis. However, timely initiation of adjuvant chemotherapy in patients with trCTCs did not impact recurrence-free survival. These results suggest that a delay in adjuvant therapy may provide an opportunity for residual systemic disease to recover.