Prognostic Impact of Para-aortic Lymph Node Metastasis in Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma

The aim of the present study was to clarify the prognostic impact of para-aortic lymph node metastasis in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma. Medical records of 103 consecutive patients with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma, who underwent pancreatic resection with regional and para-aortic lymph node dissection were reviewed retrospectively. Clinicopathological factors and survival were compared between patients with and without para-aortic lymph node metastasis. Tumor size (p = 0.045), extrapancreatic nerve plexus invasion (p = 0.043), UICC pT factor (p = 0.026), and surgical margin status (p = 0.002) were associated significantly with para-aortic lymph node metastasis. Postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy (p < 0.001) and absence of extrapancreatic nerve plexus invasion (p = 0.041) were associated independently with longer survival, but para-aortic lymph node metastasis (p = 0.078) was not associated significantly with survival by multivariate analysis. The 2- and 5-year survival rates and median survival time of patients with and without para-aortic lymph node metastasis were 12, 0%, 12.4 months and 49, 23%, 14.5 months, respectively, and there was a significant difference in survival between the two groups by a log-rank test (p < 0.001). Postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy significantly improved the survival of patients with para-aortic lymph node metastasis (p = 0.025). The prognosis of patients with para-aortic lymph node metastasis is poor in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma. However, postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy may improve survival.