Pancreatoduodenectomy with portal vein resection favors the survival time of patients with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma: A propensity score matching analysis

Portal vein (PV) involvement is common in patients with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). To the best of our knowledge, pancreatectomy combined with PV resection (PVR) is the only radical therapy for patients with PV involvement. However, there remains a debate on whether patients with PV involvement could benefit from PVR or not. The present study aimed to compare the survival outcomes between patients receiving pancreatoduodenectomy (PD) with PVR and those receiving PD alone. A total of 377 patients with PDAC were enrolled, 138 patients with PV involvement were placed in the PVR group, while the other 239 patients were in the non-PVR group. To reduce selection bias and estimate the causal effect, 123 pairs of propensity score matched (PSM) patients were selected and compared for the survival outcomes. Before PSM, the survival of patients in the PVR group was worse compared with those in the non-PVR group (mean survival, 25.1 vs. 29.3 months; P=0.038). After balancing the baseline characteristics using the PSM method, the significant survival difference between the two groups was insignificant (mean survival, 25.9 vs. 31.2 months; P=0.364). Tumor stage, body mass index, serum albumin, R1 resection, lymph node metastasis, carbohydrate antigen (CA)125 and CA19-9 were significant independent prognostic factors. The incidence of serious postoperative complications was similar between the two groups. PVR is safe and effective for patients with PDAC. Patients with PV involvement could achieve the similar survival outcome as patients without PV involvement, through radical resection combined with PVR, without increasing the risk of serious complications.