Despite the involvement of major arteries in pancreatic cancer, pancreatectomy with arterial resection (AR) following neoadjuvant therapy (NAT) can potentially enhance survival rates. A systematic review and meta-analysis of nine retrospective studies, with a total sample size of 215, showed that pancreatectomy with AR achieved an overall R0 resection rate of 79%. The median 1-, […]

The first 3 years of the E-MIPS registry revealed acceptable morbidity and mortality rates after minimally invasive pancreatoduodenectomy (MIPD) in Europe. The study included 1,336 patients who underwent MIPD, with 835 robot-assisted and 501 laparoscopic procedures. The rate of centers performing laparoscopic MIPD decreased from 46.9% to 25%, while robot-assisted MIPD increased from 46.9% to […]

A retrospective analysis compared short-term and long-term outcomes of robotic enucleation (ren) versus open enucleation (oen) for tumors in the pancreatic head and uncinate process. Of the 146 patients, 92 underwent ren with superior results in terms of shorter operative time, decreased blood loss, and lower postoperative pancreatic fistula rate. Bile leakage, major morbidity, mortality, […]

A systematic review and spline regression analysis of 33 cohort studies involving 198,377 patients were conducted to determine the minimum volume threshold required for a specialist pancreas service to achieve optimal outcomes. The results showed that 55 pancreaticoduodenectomies (PDs) per year were needed to achieve the lowest morbidity, while 43 PDs per year were required […]

In a prospective study, researchers evaluated the prognostic value of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) using next-generation sequencing (NGS) in patients with localized pancreatic cancer (PDAC) undergoing neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC). They found that ctDNA detection was associated with higher CA19-9 levels and predicted worse progression-free survival. Moreover, the presence of KRAS ctDNA at diagnosis independently predicted […]

Patients with resectable biliary tract cancer (BTC) who had negative peritoneal washing cytology (PWC) exhibited longer recurrence-free survival and overall survival compared to those with positive PWC. Among the analyzed patients, ampullary carcinoma showed uniformly negative PWC. Serum carbohydrate antigen 19-9 level over 80 u/ml and multiple lymph node metastasis were independent factors associated with […]

Laparoscopic partial splenectomy in distal pancreatectomy may preserve splenic function and help retain immunocompetence, according to a study involving five patients. The procedure, which involves resection of the distal pancreas and the inferior portion of the spleen, was completed laparoscopically within four hours. All patients had a perfused splenic remnant on imaging and benign blood […]

The study analyzed the implications of the geometric location (fundal end vs cystic ductal end) of gallbladder cancer on postoperative outcomes. Researchers compared the oncologic outcomes of 575 patients with gallbladder cancer and found that patients with cancer located on the cystic ductal end had significantly lower rates of recurrence-free survival and overall survival compared […]

Studies comparing organ-preserving pancreatectomy procedures have shown that central pancreatectomy (CP) leads to a lower incidence of new-onset or exacerbated diabetes compared to distal pancreatectomy (DP). However, CP is associated with increased morbidities such as pancreatic fistula. Spleen-preserving DP using the Kimura procedure reduces the risk of postoperative gastric varices and splenic infarction, but its […]

Distinct intra-tumoral cell neighborhoods were identified in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDA), with variations in immune and tumor cell subsets based on neighboring cells. Tumors from long-term survivors had a higher presence of stromal-associated macrophages, while short-term survivors had more immune-excluded tumor cells. Chemotherapy-treated tumors showed lower quantities of tumor-associated T cells and macrophages, but higher […]