Integrated resection of the pancreatic head is the most difficult step in radical pancreaticoduodenectomy(RPD) in patients with the portal vein(PV) and superior mesenteric vein(SMV) invasion or oppression by the tumor. This study introduced a new idea and skill named the "total arterial devascularization first"(TADF) technique and its applications in RPD. Three arterial blood supplies of pancreatic head were obstructed before dissection of veins. The critical steps included exposure of the anterior surface of the abdominal aorta(AA) by completely transecting neural and connective tissue between superior mesenteric artery(SMA) and pancreatic mesounsinate, and transection of the mesounsinate from the origin of SMA to the root of the celiac trunk. From January 2012 through May 2013, a total of 58 patients with PV/SMV invasion or oppression underwent RPD using this technique.The median operative time was 5.1 h(ranging 4.5–8.1 h). The median intraoperative blood loss was 450mL(ranging 200–900 mL). No intraoperative and postoperative bleeding of pancreatic head region occurred. Among the 58 patients, 21 were subjected to vessel lateral wall angiectomy or angiorrhaphy, and 10 to angiectomy and end-to-end anastomosis. The incidence of postoperative bleeding, postoperative pancreatic fistula and biliary fistula was 5.2%, 6.8%, and 1.7%, respectively. No patients died 3 months after operation. The TADF technique is a new method for intricate RPD and could improve the security of surgery and reduce intraoperative bleeding, which is expected to become standardized surgical approach for RPD.
BACKGROUND: Myeloid-derived suppressor cells(MDSCs) are heterogeneous cell types that suppress T-cell responses in cancer patients and animal models, some MDSC subpopulations are increased in patients with pancreatic cancer. The present study was to investigate a specific subset of MDSCs in patients with pancreatic cancer and the mechanism of MDSCs increase in these patients.METHODS: Myeloid cells from whole blood were collected from 37 patients with pancreatic cancer, 17 with cholangiocarcinoma, and 47 healthy controls. Four pancreatic cancer cell lines were cocultured with normal peripheral blood mononuclear cells(PBMCs) to test the effect of tumor cells on the conversion of PBMCs to MDSCs. Levels of granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor(GM-CSF) and arginase activity in the plasma of cancer patients were analyzed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. RESULTS: CD14+/CD11b+/HLA-DR- MDSCs were increased in patients with pancreatic or bile duct cancer compared with those in healthy controls, and this increase was correlated with clinical cancer stage. Pancreatic cancer cell lines induced PBMCs to MDSCs in a dose-dependent manner. GM-CSF and arginase activity levels were significantly increased in the serum of patients with pancreatic cancer. CONCLUSIONS: MDSCs were tumor related: tumor cells induced PBMCs to MDSCs in a dose-dependent manner and circulating CD14+/CD11b+/HLA-DR- MDSCs in pancreatic cancer patients were positively correlated with tumor burden. MDSCs might be useful markers for pancreatic cancer detection and progression.
BACKGROUND: The treatment of borderline resectable pancreatic head cancer(BRPHC) is still controversial and challenging. The artery-first approaches are described to be the important options for the early determination. Whether these approaches can achieve an increase R0 rate, better bleeding control and increasing long-term survival for BRPHC are still controversial. We compared a previously reported technique, a modified artery-first approach(MAFA), with conventional techniques for the surgical treatment of BRPHC.METHODS: A total of 117 patients with BRPHC undergone pancreaticoduodenectomy(PD) from January 2013 to June 2015 were included. They were divided into an MAFA group(n=78) and a conventional-technique group(n=39). Background characteristics, operative data and complications were compared between the two groups.RESULTS: Mean operation time was significantly shorter in the MAFA group than that in the conventional-technique group(313 vs 384 min; P=0.014); mean volume of intraoperative blood loss was significantly lower in the MAFA group than that in the conventional-technique group(534 vs 756 m L; P=0.043); and mean rate of venous resection was significantly higher in the conventional-technique group than that in the MAFA group(61.5% vs 35.9%; P=0.014). Pathologic data, early mortality and morbidity were not different significantly between the two groups.CONCLUSIONS: MAFA is safe, simple, less time-consuming, less intraoperative blood loss and less venous resection, and therefore, may become a standard surgical approach to PD for BRPHC with the superior mesenteric vein-portal vein involvement but without superior mesenteric artery invasion.
Min WangHang ZhangFeng ZhuFeng PengXin WangMing ShenRen-Yi Qin
