Specific recurrence locations have different predictive factors and possess distinct RFS curves, supporting the hypothesis that unique biological differences exist among tumors leading to distinct patterns of recurrence.

Background While sarcopenia is typically defined using total psoas area (TPA), characterizing sarcopenia using only a single axial cross-sectional image may be inadequate. We sought to evaluate total psoas volume (TPV) as a new tool to define sarcopenia and compare patient outcomes relative to TPA and TPV. Method Sarcopenia was assessed in 763 patients who underwent pancreatectomy for pancreatic adenocarcinoma between 1996 and 2014. It was defined as the TPA and TPV in the lowest sex-specific quartile. The impact of sarcopenia defined by TPA and TPV on overall morbidity and mortality was assessed using multivariable analysis. Result Median TPA and TPV were both lower in women versus men (both P<0.001). TPA identified 192 (25.1 %) patients as sarcopenic, while TPV identified 152 patients (19.9 %). Three hundred sixty-nine (48.4 %) patients experienced a postoperative complication. While TPA-sarcopenia was not associated with higher risk of postoperative complications (OR 1.06; P=0.72), sarcopenia defined by TPV was associated with morbidity (OR 1.79; P=0.002). On multivariable analysis, TPV-sarcopenia remained independently associated with an increased risk of postoperative complications (OR 1.69; P=0.006), as well as long-term survival (HR 1.46; P=0.006). Conclusion The use of TPV to define sarcopenia was associated with both short- and long-term outcomes following resection of pancreatic cancer. Assessment of the entire volume of the psoas muscle (TPV) may be a better means to define sarcopenia rather than a single axial image.

Background In the pancreas, poorly differentiated neuroendocrine carcinomas include small cell carcinoma and large cell neuroendocrine carcinoma and are rare; data regarding their pathologic and clinical features are very limited. Design One hundred and seven pancreatic resections originally diagnosed as poorly differentiated neuroendocrine carcinomas were reassessed using the classification and grading (mitotic rate/Ki67 index) criteria put forth by the WHO in 2010 for the gastroenteropancreatic system. Immunohistochemical labeling for neuroendocrine and acinar differentiation markers was performed. Sixty-three cases were reclassified, mostly as well differentiated neuroendocrine tumor or acinar cell carcinoma, and eliminated. The clinicopathologic features and survival of the remaining 44 poorly differentiated neuroendocrine carcinomas were further assessed. Results The mean patient age was 59 years (range, 21–82) and the male/female ratio was 1.4. Twenty-seven tumors were located in the head of the pancreas, 3 in the body and 11 in the tail. The median tumor size was 4 cm (range, 2–18). Twenty-seven tumors were large cell neuroendocrine carcinomas and 17 were small cell carcinomas (mean mitotic rate, 37/10 HPF and 51/10 HPF; mean Ki67 index, 66% and 75%, respectively). Eight tumors had combined components, mostly adenocarcinomas. In addition, 2 tumors had components of well differentiated neuroendocrine tumor. Eighty-eight percent of the patients had nodal or distant metastatic disease at presentation and an additional 7% developed metastases subsequently. Follow-up information was available for 43 patients; 33 died of disease with a median survival of 11 months (range, 0–104); 8 were alive with disease, with a median follow-up of 19.5 months (range, 0–71). The 2-year and 5-year survival rates were 22.5% and 16.1%, respectively. Conclusion Poorly differentiated neuroendocrine carcinoma of the pancreas is a highly aggressive neoplasm, with frequent metastases and poor survival. Most patients die within less than a year. Most (61%) are large cell neuroendocrine carcinomas. Well differentiated neuroendocrine tumor and acinar cell carcinoma are often misdiagnosed as poorly differentiated neuroendocrine carcinoma, emphasizing that diagnostic criteria need to be clearly followed to ensure accurate diagnosis.

For patients with suspected IPMNs, we present an independently validated model for the prediction of high-risk disease.

Background The impact of postoperative complications on the administration of adjuvant therapy following pancreaticoduodenectomy (PD) for adenocarcinoma is still unclear. Methods A retrospective review of all patients undergoing PD at our institution between 1995 and 2011 was performed. Clinicopathological data, including Clavien–Dindo complication grade, time to adjuvant therapy (TTA), and survival, were analyzed. Results A total of 1,144 patients underwent PD for adenocarcinoma between 1995 and 2011. The overall complication rate was 49.1 % and clinically severe complications (≥IIIb) occurred in 4.2 %. Overall, 621 patients (54.3 %) were known to have received adjuvant therapy. The median TTA was 60 days. Although the presence of a complication was associated with a delay in TTA (p = 0.002), the grade of complication was not (p = 0.112). On multivariate analysis, only age > 68 years (p < 0.001) and length of stay >9 days (p = 0.002) correlated with no adjuvant therapy. Patients with postoperative complications were more likely to receive single adjuvant chemotherapy or radiation therapy (31.4 %) than were patients without complications (17.1 %; p < 0.001). Patients without a complication had a longer median survival compared with patients who experienced complications (19.5 vs. 16.1 months; p = 0.001). Patients without complications who received adjuvant therapy had longer median survival than patients with complications who received no adjuvant therapy (22.5 vs. 10.7 months; p < 0.001). Multivariate analysis demonstrated that complications [hazard ratio (HR) 1.16; p = 0.023] and adjuvant therapy (HR 0.67; p <0.001) were related to survival. Conclusion Complications and no adjuvant therapy are common following PD for adenocarcinoma. Postoperative complications delay TTA and reduce the likelihood of multimodality adjuvant therapy. Identifying patients at increased risk for complications and those unlikely to receive adjuvant therapy warrants further investigation as they may benefit from a neoadjuvant approach.

The GAME score is a preoperative prognostic tool that can be used to inform treatment selection.

Background Intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms (IPMNs) are the most common cystic precursor lesions of invasive pancreatic cancer. The recent identification of activating GNAS mutations at codon 201 in IPMNs is a promising target for early detection and therapy. The purpose of this study was to explore clinicopathological correlates of GNAS mutational status in resected IPMNs. Methods Clinical and pathologic characteristics were retrieved on 54 patients in whom GNAS codon 201 mutational status was previously reported (“historical group”, Wu et al. Sci Transl Med 3:92ra66, 2011). In addition, a separate cohort of 32 patients (validation group) was included. After microdissection and DNA extraction, GNAS status was determined in the validation group by pyrosequencing. Results GNAS activating mutations were found in 64 % of the 32 IPMNs included in the validation group, compared with a previously reported prevalence of 57 % in the historical group. Overall, 52 of 86 (61 %) of IPMNs demonstrated GNAS mutations in the two studies combined. Analysis of both groups confirmed that demographic characteristics, tumor location, ductal system involvement, focality, size, grade of dysplasia, presence of an associated cancer, and overall survival were not correlated with GNAS mutational status. Stratified by histological subtype, 100 % of intestinal type IPMNs demonstrated GNAS mutations compared to 51 % of gastric IPMN, 71 % of pancreatobiliary IPMNs, and 0 % of oncocytic IPMNs. Conclusions GNAS activating mutations can be reliably detected in IPMNs by pyrosequencing. In terms of clinicopathological parameters, only histological subtype was correlated with mutational frequency, with the intestinal phenotype always associated with GNAS mutations.

High-grade pancreatic intraepithelial neoplasia (HG-PanIN) is the major precursor of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) and is an ideal target for early detection. To characterize pure HG-PanIN, we analysed 23 isolated HG-PanIN lesions occurring in the absence of PDAC. Whole-exome sequencing of five of these HG-PanIN lesions revealed a median of 33 somatic mutations per lesion, with a total of 318 mutated genes. Targeted next-generation sequencing of 17 HG-PanIN lesions identified KRAS mutations in 94% of the lesions. CDKN2A alterations occurred in six HG-PanIN lesions, and RNF43 alterations in five. Mutations in TP53, GNAS, ARID1A, PIK3CA, and TGFBR2 were limited to one or two HG-PanINs. No non-synonymous mutations in SMAD4 were detected. Immunohistochemistry for p53 and SMAD4 proteins in 18 HG-PanINs confirmed the paucity of alterations in these genes, with aberrant p53 labelling noted only in three lesions, two of which were found to be wild type in sequencing analyses. Sixteen adjacent LG-PanIN lesions from ten patients were also sequenced using targeted sequencing. LG-PanIN harboured KRAS mutations in 94% of the lesions; mutations in CDKN2A, TP53, and SMAD4 were not identified. These results suggest that inactivation of TP53 and SMAD4 are late genetic alterations, predominantly occurring in invasive PDAC.