Extended surgical resection for adenocarcinoma of the pancreas

Adenocarcinoma of the pancreas is the fourth-leading cause of adult cancer mortality. In 1991, an estimated 28,200 new cases of this disease will be diagnosed in the United States. This report describes surgical advances that enable these patients to undergo successful tumor extirpation with minimal morbidity and mortality as part of the multimodality approach to therapy. As preoperative diagnostic accuracy improves, an aggressive surgical approach to this disease will be appropriately performed only in patients highly likely to benefit. By combining surgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy in appropriately selected patients, we hope to achieve improved survival and quality of life.