Benefit of portal or superior mesenteric vein resection with adjuvant chemotherapy for patients with pancreatic head carcinoma

Background and Objectives The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of portal or superior mesenteric vein (PV/SMV) resection for patients with pancreatic carcinoma who underwent pancreatoduodenectomy. Methods Medical records of 125 patients with pancreatic head carcinoma who underwent pancreatoduodenectomy were reviewed retrospectively. Sixty‐one patients underwent PV/SMV resection and 64 patients did not. Clinicopathological factors were compared between the two groups and the prognostic impact of PV/SMV resection was evaluated using univariate and multivariate survival analysis. Results The frequency of mortality and morbidity did not differ between the two groups. Univariate analysis revealed that a significant difference in overall survival was found between patients who did and did not undergo PV/SMV resection ( P  = 0.046) as well as between patients with and without pathological PV/SMV invasion ( P  = 0.012). However, PV/SMV resection and pathological PV/SMV invasion were not independent prognostic factors by multivariate survival analysis. Among patients with PV/SMV resection, the use of adjuvant chemotherapy was the only independent prognostic factor of overall survival ( P  = 0.003). Conclusions Resection of the PV/SMV with adjuvant chemotherapy may provide an acceptable survival benefit to patients with pancreatic head carcinoma, which involves the PV/SMV without additional mortality and morbidity. J. Surg. Oncol. 2013;107:414–421. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.