Abstract
Neoadjuvant therapy (NAT) + surgical resection for pancreatic cancer (PC) has gained consensus in recent years. Pathological response (PR) is generally assessed according to the College of American Pathologists grading system, ranging from 0 (complete response) to 3 (no response). The aim of our study is to evaluate the PR in a series of resections for PC after NAT and its prognostic implication. 112 patients undergone NAT and resection for PC between 2011 and 2020 were retrospectively evaluated. PR was 0/1, 2 and 3 in 18 (15%), 79 (61%) and 29 (24%) cases, respectively. Chemotherapy regimens different from FOLFIRINOX and gemcitabine + nab-paclitaxel (OR 11.61 (2.53–53.36), p = 0.002) and lymphovascular invasion (OR 11.28 (1.89–67.23), p = 0.008) were associated to PR-3. Median follow-up was 25.8 (3.6–130.5) months. For PR-0/1, PR-2 and PR-3, median DFS was 45.8, 11.5, 4.6 months (p < 0.0001), respectively, while median OS was not reached, 27.1 and 17.5 months (p = 0.0006), respectively. At univariate analysis, PR-0/1 was significantly associated to better DFS and OS (HR 0.33 (0.17–0.67), p = 0.002; HR 0.20 (0.07–0.54), p = 0.002, respectively). At multivariate analysis, pancreaticoduodenectomy (HR 0.50 (0.30–0.84), p = 0.009), LNR (HR 27.14 (1.21–608.9), p = 0.038) and lymphovascular invasion (HR 1.99 (1.06–3.76), p = 0.033) were independently associated to DFS; pre-treatment CA 19.9 value (HR 1.00 (1.00–1.00), p = 0.025), post-treatment resectability status (HR 0.51 (0.28–0.95), p = 0.035), pancreaticoduodenectomy (HR 0.56 (0.32–0.99), p = 0.050), severe morbidity (2.99 (1.22–7.55), p = 0.017), LNR (HR 56.8 (2.08–1548.3), p = 0.017), lymphovascular invasion (HR 2.18 (1.08–4.37), p = 0.029) were independently associated to OS. PR did not reach statistical significance at multivariate analysis. A favorable PR is observed only in a limited number of cases. The prognostic role of PR, despite being promising, remains unclear and further multicentric studies are needed.
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Donisi, G., Nappo, G., Pacilli, M. et al. Pathologic tumor response to neoadjuvant therapy in resected pancreatic cancer: does it affect prognosis?. Updates Surg 75, 1497–1508 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13304-023-01628-y
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13304-023-01628-y