Role of Radical Antegrade Modular Pancreatosplenectomy for Adenocarcinoma of the Body and Tail of the Pancreas

Studies have claimed that in the surgical treatment of pancreas body and tail cancer, radical antegrade modular pancreatosplenectomy (RAMPS) is associated with effective tangential margin and extensive lymph node dissection. In the present study, the authors have compared the surgical outcomes between RAMPS and conventional distal pancreatosplenectomy (DPS) in patients with adenocarcinoma of the pancreas body and tail, and also identified prognostic factors associated with survival after surgery. Retrospective review of 92 consecutive patients who underwent surgical resection for pancreas body and tail adenocarcinoma with curative intent between 1995 and 2010. Median follow-up duration was 16.1 months. Of the 92 patients, 38 patients received RAMPS and 54 patients received DPS. Patients who underwent RAMPS had a greater number of retrieved lymph nodes than patients undergoing DPS [median 14 (5-52) vs. 9 (1-36), p < 0.05]. Conventional DPS, no adjuvant chemoradiation therapy (CRT), and non-curative resection were associated with poor overall survival (OS) on univariate analysis. After multivariate analysis for these variables, only the lack of adjuvant CRT and resection margin status were found to adversely affect OS. While the RAMPS procedure is effective in performing an extensive LN dissection, it is not associated with better retroperitoneal resection margin or retrieval of more positive LNs, and it does not lead to better curability or OS survival compared to DPS. Lack of adjuvant CRT and resection margin status are poor prognostic factors in patients with pancreas body and tail cancer.