NCI-designated cancer centers lead to better surgical options and survival rates for patients with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC).

• Patients at NCI centers had 2.37 times higher odds of surgical resection compared to non-designated centers.
• One-year mortality was halved (hazard ratio 0.50) for those receiving care at NCI centers.

Access to NCI centers is crucial for delivering coordinated care, particularly in multimodality treatment plans.

• Multimodality treatment within 180 days post-surgery was significantly higher at NCI centers (56.2%) versus non-NCI (33.4%).