Tangential Versus Segmental Portomesenteric Venous Resection During Pancreatoduodenectomy for Pancreatic Cancer: An International Multicenter Cohort Study on Surgical and Oncological Outcome.

Objective: To investigate whether tangential versus segmental portomesenteric venous resection (PVR) impacts surgical and oncological outcome in patients undergoing pancreatoduodenectomy for pancreatic cancer with portomesenteric vein (PMV) involvement.

Summary Background Data: Current comparative studies on tangential versus segmental PVR as part of pancreatoduodenectomy for pancreatic cancer include all degrees of PMV involvement, including cases where tangential PVR may not be a feasible approach, limiting the clinical applicability.

Methods: International retrospective study in 10 centers from 5 countries, including all consecutive patients after pancreatoduodenectomy with PVR for pancreatic cancer with ≤180° PMV involvement on cross-sectional imaging at diagnosis (2014-2020). Cox and logistic regression analyses were performed to investigate the association of tangential versus segmental PVR with overall survival (OS) from surgery, recurrence-free survival (RFS), locoregional recurrence, and in-hospital/30-day major morbidity, adjusting for potential confounders.

Results: Overall, 357 patients who underwent pancreatoduodenectomy with PVR were included (42% tangential PVR, 58% segmental PVR). The adjusted risk for in-hospital/30-day major morbidity was 23% (95%CI, 17-32) after tangential and 23% (95%CI, 17-30) after segmental PVR (P=0.98). After adjusting for confounders, PVR type was not associated with OS (HR=0.94 [95%CI, 0.69-1.30]), RFS (HR=0.94 [95% CI, 0.69 to 1.28), and locoregional recurrence (OR=0.76 [95%CI, 0.40-1.46]).

Conclusions: In patients undergoing pancreatoduodenectomy for pancreatic cancer with ≤180° PMV involvement, the type of PVR (i.e., tangential vs. segmental) was not associated with differences in surgical and oncological outcome. This suggest that if both procedures are technically feasible, surgeons can choose the type of PVR based on their preference.