Locally advanced pancreatic cancer successfully treated by distal pancreatectomy with celiac axis resection (DP-CAR) after S-1 with radiation therapy followed by gemcitabine/nab-paclitaxel therapy: a case report

BACKGROUND: The prognosis for pancreatic cancer remains dismal because many patients are diagnosed with unresectable cancer at the initial diagnosis. Recently, conversion surgery was reported as an effective treatment for initially unresectable pancreatic cancer with a favorable response to non-surgical treatment lasting over 240 days. Here, we describe a case of locally advanced pancreatic cancer (LAPC) successfully resected after treatment with S-1 and radiation followed by gemcitabine/nab-paclitaxel therapy. CASE PRESENTATION: A 73-year-old man with LAPC was referred to our hospital. Computed tomography findings revealed a 2.5-cm mass in the pancreatic body that had invaded the celiac artery, common hepatic artery, and splenic artery. Superior mesenteric artery (SMA) encasement was not observed, but tumor abutment over 180° with the main tumor was detected. Staging laparoscopy showed no findings of distant metastasis, and washing cytology revealed no malignancy. He was diagnosed with unresectable pancreatic cancer. Treatment with S-1 with radiation therapy followed by gemcitabine with nab-paclitaxel was performed. Six months after the initial treatment, the tumor size had decreased to 1.2 cm, and encasement of the main artery was diminished. Though abutment to the main artery, including the SMA, was still detected, distal pancreatectomy with celiac artery resection was performed. The histopathological findings around the celiac artery revealed fibrous changes with an Evans classification of grade IIb. There was no residual cancer at the periphery; thus, R0 resection was achieved. The patient has been healthy and without recurrence for more than 12 months since the initial treatment. CONCLUSIONS: Gemcitabine/nab-paclitaxel therapy revealed high response rate for metastasic pancreatic cancer (PC), but the effect for LAPC proposing conversion surgery was not well discussed. In this case, we achieve R0 resection combined with chemoradiation therapy and gemcitabine/nab-paclitaxel therapy. This regimen was also effective for LAPC and may be used to increase the population of conversion surgery by its high response rate.