Combined hepatic arterial resection in pancreatic resections for locally advanced pancreatic cancer

Arterial involvement in advanced pancreatic cancer generally defines local unresectability. This study was aimed to evaluate the clinical outcomes of combined common hepatic arterial resection with pancreaticoduodenectomy or total pancreatectomy in patients with locally advanced pancreatic cancer involving the hepatic artery. Of 348 patients with pancreatic head cancers who underwent surgical resection between June 1999 and September 2015, 21 underwent combined common hepatic arterial resection with pancreaticoduodenectomy (17) or total pancreatectomy (4). Preoperative common hepatic arterial embolization was performed in 12 patients. Preoperative CT findings of hepatic arterial involvement, postoperative complications, survival rates, and prognostic factors for survival were analyzed. Twenty-one unresectable patients with locally advanced pancreatic cancer who underwent laparotomy in this study period were selected as the control group. Rates of pathological arterial invasion were significantly higher in patients with level III (> 180(0)) CT findings (90%,9/10) than in patients with levels I and II (< 180(0)) (27%, 3/11) (p < 0.01). No surgical deaths occurred. Survival after surgical resection in all 21 patients was 47.6%, 6.6%, and 6.6% at 1, 3, and 5 years, and median survival was 11 months. The preoperative serum CA19-9 level was a significant prognostic factor for overall survival, median survivals were 21.5 and 8.3 months in the low CA19-9 and high CA19-9 groups, respectively. No significant difference in survival between the high-CA19-9 group and the unresectable group was found. Combined common hepatic arterial resection in pancreaticoduodenectomy or total pancreatectomy might be feasible with an acceptable rate of surgical complications, and may have a beneficial effect on the prognosis only in patients with low preoperative serum CA19-9 levels.