title: Clinical significance of combined pancreas and portal vein resection in surgery for pancreatic adenocarcinoma.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Surgical resection remains the only potentially curative treatment for pancreatic adenocarcinoma for which the resectability and prognosis are still poor. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the efficacy of portal vein resection for pancreatic adenocarcinoma.
  
  
  METHODS
  Between August 1983 and December 2000, 69 patients with pancreatic ductal cell carcinoma underwent resection in our department; 22 of the 69 had combined resection of the pancreas and portal vein. When the pancreas could not be separated from the portal vein, the vein was judged to be invaded by cancer and resected.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The mortality rate for portal vein resection was 4.5%, which was similar to that in 47 patients with no resection of the portal vein (2.1%). Postoperative histologic analysis showed that 8 (37%) of the patients who underwent portal vein resection did not have cancer invasion to the portal vein, and 3 of them remain disease free to date. The 3-year survival rate of patients undergoing portal vein resection was 21.3%, and that of patients without portal vein resection was 20.0%.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Resection of the portal vein in cases of pancreatic ductal cell carcinoma has no adverse affect on long-term survival for selected patients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery I, Oita Medical University, 1-1 Idaigaoka, Hasama, Oita 879-0055, Japan.
authors.forename: Masanori
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Aramaki
authors.forename: Toshifumi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Matsumoto
authors.forename: Tsuyoshi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Etoh
authors.forename: Tetsuya
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ishio
authors.forename: Yoshihisa
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Himeno
authors.forename: Atsushi
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sasaki
authors.forename: Kazuhiro
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yada
authors.forename: Katsunori
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kawano
authors.forename: Seigo
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kitano
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000714:Anastomosis, Surgical; D021441:Carcinoma, Pancreatic Ductal / Q000401:mortality* / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009361:Neoplasm Invasiveness; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care; D010180:Pancreatectomy / Q000379:methods*; D010190:Pancreatic Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality* / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D011169:Portal Vein / Q000601:surgery*