Background: It is unknown whether neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy, compared with adjuvant chemoradiotherapy, decreases the rate of local recurrence after resection of pancreatic adenocarcinoma.
Study design: This is a retrospective case review of 102 patients with pancreatic adenocarcinoma who underwent pancreatic resection between 1993 and 2005.
Results: Of 102 patients with pancreatic adenocarcinoma who underwent surgical resection, 19 (19%) had no additional treatment, 41 (40%) underwent adjuvant chemoradiotherapy, and 42 (41%) were treated preoperatively with neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy. Patients selected to receive neoadjuvant therapy were more likely to have locally advanced tumors. Based on initial CT scan, the percentage of patients with unresectable or borderline resectable tumors in the neoadjuvant group was 67%, compared with 22% in the adjuvant group. Nevertheless, patients receiving neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy were less likely to have a local recurrence develop than patients receiving adjuvant chemoradiotherapy (5% versus 34%, p = 0.02). For those patients with tumors determined to be resectable on initial CT scan, local recurrences were observed in 31% (10 of 32) of patients in the adjuvant therapy group, compared with only 7% (1 of 14) of the neoadjuvant group. Intraoperative radiation therapy, administered to 51% of patients, was not associated with a lower rate of local recurrence.
Conclusions: Neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy is associated with improved local tumor control in patients undergoing resection for pancreatic carcinoma.