Impact of postoperative complications on pancreatic cancer survival and recurrence.

Abstract

446 Background: We investigated the impact of postoperative complications on pancreatic cancer survival and recurrence after curative surgery. Methods: This study included 164 patients who underwent curative surgery for pancreatic cancer between 2005 and 2014. The patients were classified into those with postoperative complications (C group) and those without postoperative complications (NC group). The risk factors for overall survival (OS) and recurrence-free survival (RFS) were identified. Results: Postoperative complications were found in 61 of the 164 patients (37.2%). The RFS rate at five years after surgery was 10.6% in the C group patients and was 21.0% in the NC group patients. The RFS tended to be worse in the C group than in the NC group (p=0.1756). The OS rate at five years after surgery was 7.4% in the C group and 22.8% in the NC group, which was significantly different (p=0.0189). The multivariate analysis demonstrated that postoperative complications and lymphatic invasion were significant independent risk factors for the RFS and OS. Conclusions: The development of postoperative complications was a risk factor for a decreased overall survival and for disease recurrence in patients who underwent curative surgery for pancreatic cancer. The surgical procedure, perioperative care and the surgical strategy should be carefully planned to avoid complications.