Staging of pancreatic cancer: resectable, borderline resectable, and unresectable disease

Abstract

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is a relatively common malignancy that carries an overall poor prognosis, with five-year survival below 10%. Despite ongoing research, surgical resection remains the only potentially curative treatment. Therefore, accurate identification of those patients who would benefit from surgical resection is of paramount importance. High-quality imaging and image interpretation is central to this process. Radiology helps in the determination of whether patients are resectable, borderline resectable, or unresectable and guides treatment planning.

Keywords: Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC); Preoperative staging; Resectability; Vasculature.