Rapid intra-abdominal spread of pancreatic cancer. Influence of multiple operative biopsy procedures.

Intra-abdominal spread of tumor is a common cause of treatment failure in patients with pancreatic cancer. We have reviewed 62 patients with pancreatic cancer undergoing repeat laparotomy in order to learn what factors are associated with the high risk of intra-abdominal metastases. Patients who underwent two or more operative biopsy procedures were at a markedly increased risk of developing intra-abdominal tumor seeding. These metastases were not detectable by preoperative computed tomography scan or ultrasound. This information affirms that multiple biopsies of pancreatic tumors increase the risk of local disease failure, and regimens based on nonoperative staging are likely to incorrectly minimize the extent of tumor involvement.