Background: Adenocarcinoma of the body and tail of the pancreas are more often than not inoperable to begin with. Factors predicting the prognosis in the resected tumors of pancreatic body and tail were analyzed.
Methods: Between 1989 and 2006, 43 patients with adenocarcinoma of the body and tail of the pancreas underwent resection at Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Taoyuan, Taiwan. Univariate and multivariate analysis of clinicopathological factors affecting the prognosis were analyzed.
Results: Totally, 32 patients were available for the analysis. The median follow-up was 13.6 months (1.5-87.5 months). The median survival time was 14.2 months and the 1-, 3-, and 5-year survival rates were 58.1, 25.8, and 6.5 %, respectively. On univariate analysis, the factors which influenced the survival were tumor size >4 cm (p=0.004), lymphatic invasion (p=0.001), and positive resection margin (p=0.030). On multivariate analysis, only the tumor size and the lymphatic invasion were independent prognostic factors.
Conclusion: Even after macroscopic curative resection, the prognosis remains poor for pancreatic body and tail adenocarcinoma. Early diagnosis is the key to achieving long-term survival. Newer effective adjuvant treatment after curative resection is needed to improve the survival.