Borderline resectable pancreatic cancer: on the edge of survival

Abstract

Background: Patients with borderline resectable pancreatic cancer are at high risk of having positive surgical margins due to involvement of the tumor with adjacent vasculature. This article reviews the management of this subset of pancreatic cancer patients.

Methods: The authors review the current definitions of borderline resectable pancreatic cancer and how it is diagnosed and staged. The history, current approaches, and future directions in neoadjuvant therapy for borderline resectable pancreatic cancer are also reviewed with emphasis on various chemotherapy regimens that have been used. The application of intensity-modulated radiation therapy and image-guided radiation therapy that accounts for respiratory motion to targeting the gross tumor volume in the pancreas are discussed, and the promise of integrating targeted therapies in neoadjuvant treatment programs is highlighted.

Results: The use of neoadjuvant treatment programs that employ gemcitabine-based chemotherapy regimens followed by chemoradiation increases the likelihood of subsequent margin-negative resection in borderline resectable pancreatic cancer.

Conclusions: There has been progress in the imaging, staging, surgical technique, and the use of chemotherapy and chemoradiotherapy in the management of borderline resectable pancreatic cancer. Patients can benefit from multidisciplinary management at high-volume pancreatic cancer treatment centers.