Premium
The continuing problem of carcinoma of the pancreas
Author(s) -
Parker George A.,
Postlethwait R. W.
Publication year - 1985
Publication title -
journal of surgical oncology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.201
H-Index - 111
eISSN - 1096-9098
pISSN - 0022-4790
DOI - 10.1002/jso.2930280110
Subject(s) - medicine , surgery , laparotomy , pancreaticoduodenectomy , pancreas , gastroenterostomy , carcinoma , adenocarcinoma , biopsy , head of pancreas , survival rate , pancreatectomy , cancer , radiology , gastrectomy
The courses of 208 patients with adenocarcinoma of the pancreas were reviewed. The lesion was located in the head of the pancreas in 142 patients, (68%) and of these, in 22 patients the diagnosis was confirmed histologically at postmortem examination; 21 patients underwent laparotomy and biopsy with a 33% operative mortality and 3.4‐month average survival; 89 patients underwent biliary and/or gastric bypass with a 24% mortality and 4.8‐month average survival; 10 patients underwent pancreaticoduodenectomy with a 20% mortality and 14.6‐month average survival. The lesion was located in the body or tail of the pancreas in 77 patients (32%); and, of these, 15 patients had histologic confirmation of clinical diagnoses at postmortem examination; 19 patients underwent biopsy of extra‐abdominal metasases and survived an average of 1.4 months; 27 patients underwent laparotomy and biopsy with a 26% operative mortality and 3.5‐month average survival; 4 patients underwent gastric and/or biliary bypass with a 50% mortality and 4.5‐month average survival; one patient underwent noncurative distal pancreatectomy and survived 1 month postoperatively. No patient was cured of his disease. Of the 55 operative survivors of biliary bypass alone for carcinoma of the head of the pancreas, 5 (9%) required subsequent gastroenterostomy for duodenal obstruction.