A New Anatomical Classification of Portal Venous Involvement in Locally Advanced Pancreatic Cancer to Predict the Surgical Difficulty

Between May 2014 and October 2018, all patients who underwent PD procedure were retrospectively reviewed. This retrospective cohort study identified all consecutive patients with T3 (stage IIA to III) adenocarcinoma of the head of the pancreas, who underwent concomitant venous (PV/SMV) resection. Those patients with locally advanced tumors that were not responded to neoadjuvant therapy were excluded. The local ethical committee was approved this study.

Data collection included demographical features, tumor characteristics including the PV level of the tumor considering computed tomography results, neoadjuvant therapy, surgical data, hospital stay, morbidity and mortality.

Anatomical classification was established based on the relationship between portal confluence (PC) and tumor location (Figure I). Those tumors located superior to the PC were classified as Level I, whereas tumors on the confluence inferiorly located to PC were classified as Level II and Level III.