Tumor-related factors and patient’s age influence survival after resection for ampullary adenocarcinoma

The majority of surgeons agree that ampullary adenocarcinoma should be removed by partial pancreatoduodenectomy. Favoring extended resection, based on the uncertainty of the preoperative diagnosis and the higher probability of clear resection margins, we aimed to disclose the results of this surgical procedure in terms of postoperative morbidity and mortality, and to identify prognosticators of long-term survival. We documented, prospectively, 25 consecutive patients with adenocarcinoma of the papilla of Vater in whom pylorus-preserving pancreatoduodenectomy was performed. Clinical data, pathology reports, International Union Against Cancer (UICC) tumor stage, postoperative morbidity, mortality, and long-term follow-up results were evaluated. The Kaplan-Meier method and log-rank test were applied for univariate analysis. The Cox proportional hazard model was used for multivariate analysis. Postoperative mortality was 4%, overall morbidity was 32%, and pancreas-associated morbidity was 8%. Mean survival time was 53.8 months. Tumor size, N status, UICC stage, lymphatic invasion, blood vessel infiltration, R0 resection, and age of patient at the cutoff of 70 years were independent predictors of survival on univariate analysis. Multivariate analysis, however, disclosed no independent predictors of prognosis. Pancreatoduodenectomy for ampullary carcinoma is reasonable in terms of postoperative morbidity and mortality. Tumor-related factors, R0 resection, and advanced age appeared as the main predictors of survival.