Effects of duration of initial treatment on postoperative complications in pancreatic cancer

658 Background: Early studies raised concerns over whether preoperative treatment led to postoperative complications or even death. In contrast, recent studies have reported that initial treatment (IT) prior to resection of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is safe, with no significant increase in overall morbidity or mortality, despite evidence for more advanced disease. In this study, we analyzed the clinical impact of chemotherapy or chemoradiotherapy as IT, focusing on treatment duration, on morbidity and mortality in patients with resected PDAC. Methods: We enrolled 509 consecutive patients, with 417 in the upfront surgery group and 92 in the IT group. The IT group was subdivided into 72 patients treated for < 8 months and 20 treated ≥8 months. We compared rates of postoperative Clavien–Dindo grade ≥III complications between the groups. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to find independent predictors of complications. Results: The upfront surgery and IT groups did not significantly differ in overall postsurgical complications. The rate of postoperative pancreatic fistula was significantly less in the IT group. Rates of other complications did not significantly differ, except for severe infection and delayed gastric emptying. Initiation of adjuvant chemotherapy was later in the IT group than in the upfront surgery group (43.2 vs 57.8 days, P < 0.001). In contrast, rates of overall complications significantly differed between the < 8 months and ≥8 months IT groups, although their background clinical factors did not differ. In multivariate analysis, operative procedure (distal pancreatectomy and distal pancreatectomy with celiac axis resection) (odds ratio [OR] 6.950, P = 0.0416) and IT ≥8 months (OR: 4.508, 95%, P = 0.0156) were independent predictive factors for postoperative complications. Conclusions: The incidence of postoperative complication was similar between the upfront surgery group and the IT group, however, it was significantly higher in the ≥8 months IT group in patients who underwent PDAC resection.