Background/aims: Our purpose was to compare the clinical features and prognosis of pancreatic head cancer with that of other periampullary cancers.
Methodology: The medical records of 82 patients (mean age of 61.67±10.52 years) with ductal adenocarcinoma of the head of pancreas and 73 patients (mean age of 60.52±11.72 years) with other periampullary adenocarcinomas, all of whom had received radical surgery, were retrospectively analyzed.
Results: There were no significant differences in age and gender between the groups (both, p>0.05). However, there were significant differences in lymph node metastasis, TNM stage, clear surgical margins, tumor size, and neural invasion between the 2 groups (all p<0.05). Patients with pancreatic head adenocarcinoma had significantly higher red blood cell (RBC) count and hemoglobin (Hb), albumin and pre-albumin levels, and higher platelet and white blood cell (WBC) counts than the patients with other periampullary adenocarcinomas (all p<0.05). No differences in carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) or CA19-9 were noted between the groups. The 1-year survival rates were not different between the groups (p=0.299).
Conclusions: Pancreatic head carcinoma has different clinical manifestations and biological features than other periampullary cancers.