Pathologic complete response to neoadjuvant therapy in patients with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma is associated with a better prognosis

In patients with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDA) who received neoadjuvant therapy and pancreatectomy, pathologic complete response (pCR) is rarely observed and the prognostic significance of pCR is not clear. In this study, we identified 11 patients with pCR (2.5%) from 442 patients with PDA who received neoadjuvant treatment and pancreatectomy from 1995 to 2010. There were 6 men and 5 women, with a median age of 61 years. Four patients had either synchronous or history of extrapancreatic cancer. Five patients received neoadjuvant chemotherapy followed by chemoradiation, and 6 received chemoradiation alone. Ten patients had pancreaticoduodenectomy, and 1 had distal pancreatectomy. Scar and chronic pancreatitis consistent with therapy effect were present in all cases (100%). Pancreatic intraepithelial neoplasia (PanIN) 3/carcinoma in situ was present in 5 cases, and PanIN1 and PanIN2 in 5 cases. However, no residual invasive carcinoma or lymph node metastasis was identified in all cases. Follow-up information was available in 10 patients. Follow-up time ranges from 6 to 194 months (median, 63 months). During the follow-up, 3 patients died of other causes, and 1 developed a second primary PDA in the tail of the pancreas at 84 months after the initial pancreaticoduodenectomy and died at 105 months after the initial diagnosis of PDA. The other 6 patients were alive with no evidence of disease. Patients with pCR had a better survival than did those who had posttherapy stage I or IIA disease (P <.001). Patients with PDA who received neoadjuvant therapy and had pCR in pancreatectomy are rare but have a better prognosis.