Background: Resection of certain recurrent malignancies can prolong survival, but resection of recurrent pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma is typically contraindicated because of poor outcomes.
Methods: All patients from 1992 to 2010 with recurrent pancreatic cancer after intended surgical cure were retrospectively evaluated. Clinicopathologic features were compared from patients who did and did not undergo subsequent reoperation with curative intent to identify factors associated with prolonged survival.
Results: Twenty-one of 426 patients (5 %) with recurrent pancreatic cancer underwent potentially curative reoperation for solitary local-regional (n = 7) or distant (n = 14) recurrence. The median disease-free interval after initial resection among reoperative patients was longer for those with lung or local-regional recurrence (52.4 and 41.1 months, respectively) than for those with liver recurrence (7.6 months, p = 0.006). The median interval between reoperation and second recurrence was longer in patients with lung recurrence (median not reached) than with liver or local-regional recurrence (6 and 9 months, respectively, p = 0.023). Reoperative patients with an initial disease-free interval >20 months had a longer median survival than those who did not (92.3 versus 31.3 months, respectively; p = 0.033).
Conclusion: Patients with a solitary pulmonary recurrence of pancreatic cancer after a prolonged disease-free interval should be considered for reoperation, as they are more likely to benefit from resection versus other sites of solitary recurrence.