Prognostic significance of tumour location after adjuvant chemoradiotherapy for periampullary adenocarcinoma

To analyse the outcome of adjuvant chemoradiotherapy for periampullary adenocarcinoma and the impact of tumour location as a prognosticator. Between January 1991 and December 2002, 147 patients with periampullary cancer underwent adjuvant chemoradiotherapy after pancreaticoduodenectomy. Postoperative radiotherapy was delivered to tumour bed and regional lymph nodes up to 40 Gy at 2 Gy/fraction with a two-week planned rest. Intravenous 5-fluorouracil (500 mg/m2/day) was given on days 1–3 of each split course. The median follow-up period was 82 months in survivors. Tumour >2 cm and margin-positivity were more common in patients with pancreatic cancer than nonpancreatic periampullary cancers (p