Pancreatic cancer in Illinois. A report by 88 hospitals on 2,401 patients diagnosed 1978-84.

A retrospective study of survival results for pancreatic cancer was performed. The study had two objectives: 1) to relate the extent of disease and management to survival, and 2) to determine whether newer treatment combinations have altered prognosis. Cancer registrars from 88 Illinois hospitals reviewed original medical records and submitted standardized report forms on 2,401 patients diagnosed between 1978-84. Three-year survival time was longer after laparotomy/bypass plus radiation/chemotherapy than for laparotomy/bypass alone (P less than .02). But the difference in survival between resection versus resection, radiation, and chemotherapy was not significant (P = .16). After resection, the median survival for 78 Stage I patients was 12.5 months, whereas for 181 Stage I patients after laparotomy/bypass it was 6.8 months (P less than .00001). For patients without metastases, 3-year survival was significantly better for 249 patients in whom cancer was resected versus 568 unresected patients (P less than .001). Survival was longer for 568 unresected patients without gross metastases than for 954 patients with metastatic disease found at laparotomy (P less than .05). From this study the authors concluded that: 1) since 3-year survival results were higher than expected after resection for localized cancers, resection is still desirable when it can be done with acceptable complication risks, and 2) the use of multiple treatment modalities for pancreatic cancer warrants further study in organized trials.