Recent Advances in Pancreatic Cancer Surgery of Relevance to the Practicing Pathologist

Abstract

Recent advances in pancreatic surgery have the potential to improve outcomes for patients with pancreatic cancer. We address 3 new, trending topics in pancreatic surgery that are of relevance to the pathologist. First, increasing awareness of the prognostic impact of intraoperatively detected extraregional and regional lymph node metastases and the international consensus definition on lymph node sampling and reporting. Second, neoadjuvant chemotherapy, which is capable of changing 10% to 20% of initially unresectable, to resectable disease. Third, in patients who remain unresectable following neoadjuvant chemotherapy, local ablative therapies may change indications for treatment and improve outcomes.

Keywords: Lymph node; Neoadjuvant; Pancreas; Pancreatoduodenectomy; Pathology; Radiofrequency ablation; Surgery; Whipple.