Researchers identify prognostic indicators of survival following pancreatic tumor removal

A new study of patients who underwent curative surgical removal of a pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma showed that two of the nine preoperative factors analyzed were strongly predictive of poor prognosis regardless of the tumor stage. Preoperative assessment of these prognostic biomarkers might help in planning treatment strategies to improve patient outcomes, according to an article published in Journal of Pancreatic Cancer.

The article entitled "C-Reactive Protein/Albumin Ratio and Prognostic Nutritional Index Are Strong Prognostic Indicators of Survival in Resected Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma," was coauthored by Masahide Ikeguchi, Takehiko Hanaki, Kanenori Endo, Kazunori Suzuki, Seiichi Nakamura, Takashi Sawata, and Tetsu Shimizu from Tottori Prefectural Central Hospital, Tottori, Japan. The researchers evaluated the following indicators before tumor resection in 43 patients treated over 9 years: operative procedure, operation time, tumor stage, measures of preoperative serum amylase, C-reactive protein/albumin ratio, neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio, prognostic nutritional index, carcinoembryonic antigen, and carbohydrate antigen 19-9.

"In this article, the authors provide a comprehensive analysis of prognostic indicators for patients with pancreatic cancer," says Journal of Pancreatic Cancer Editor-in-Chief Charles J. Yeo, MD, Department of Surgery, Thomas Jefferson University.