title: Prognostic factors in ductal pancreatic cancer.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The diagnosis of pancreatic adenocarcinoma remains a devastating life event for most patients and their families. Many patients with this relatively common malignancy present at a stage of disease not amenable to cancer-directed resectional therapy, and are treated via nonoperative palliative measures, with median survival of 4-8 months post-diagnosis.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  A minority of patients present with disease limited to the pancreas and periampullary region and are candidates for resectional therapy. The prognosis for these patients is determined by several factors: clinicopathologic staging, tumor biology and molecular genetics, perioperative factors and the use of postoperative adjuvant therapy.
authors.affiliation: Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, MD 21287-4606, USA.
authors.forename: C J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Yeo
authors.forename: J L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Cameron
mesh_terms: D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D006801:Humans; D008207:Lymphatic Metastasis; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D010166:Palliative Care; D010183:Pancreatic Ducts / Q000473:pathology; D010190:Pancreatic Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy; D011379:Prognosis; D015996:Survival Rate