Predictive factors of resectability and postoperative outcome for pancreatic cancer

Pancreatic cancer still remains a challenge for surgeons. The goal of surgery is to ensure oncological R0 resection as positive resection margin is associated with poor prognosis. The purpose of this study is to determine the utility of age, ASA score, bilirubin and albumin value, CA 19-9 and imaging modalities for predicting the resectability in pancreatic cancer. This retrospective study consisted of 130 patients, who had been treated surgically for potentially resectablee pancreatic cancer from January 2003 to January 2008 at the Department of Surgery, Ege University Hospital, Izmir, Turkiye. According to the baseline characteristics, age, sex and ASA scores were not found to be predictive on respectability. The difference between unresectable and operable group in terms of albumin levels, serum bilirubin levels and serum CA 19-9 levels were not statistically significant. There wasn't any statistically significant difference in the postoperative mortality for age, ASA score, imaging modalities, serum albumin levels, serum bilirubin levels and serum CA 19-9 levels between the unresectable and operable groups. Pancreatic cancer is an aggressive tumor with early dissemination to the regional lymph nodes and distant metastases such as liver and visceral peritoneum. The overall five-year survival rate ranges from 0.4-4%. Nearly 40% patients have a metastatic disease, 40% patients have a locally advanced disease and only 20% patients have noninvasive tumors at the time of presentation. Curative surgical resection has been recognised as the most important prognostic factor in pancreatic cancers. Pathologically, T and nodal stages, tumor grade, resection margins and lymphatic and perineural invasion were also known as the other parameters, which influence the survival. In this study, we investigated the predictive factors for resectability and postoperative mortality risk in pancreatic cancer. We didn't find a correlation between these parameters and resectability.