Influence of non-jaundice stage at diagnosis on clinicopathological features and long-term survival of patients with periampullary carcinomas

The effect of non-jaundice stage at diagnosis on clinicopathological features and prognosis of patients with periampullary carcinomas (PACs) remains uncertain. The 504 patients who were pathologically diagnosed with PACs between 2012 and 2017 were retrospective analyzed. Kaplan–Meier method was used to estimate survival and log-rank tests were used for comparisons between groups. Patients were divided into the non-jaundice group and the jaundice group according to serum total bilirubin (3 mg/dL) at diagnosis. By comparison with the jaundice group, more patients of the non-jaundice group manifested abdominal pain with longer duration. The degree of deterioration of complete blood count, liver function and CA19-9 in the non-jaundice group was significantly lower (P < .001). The non-jaundice group had larger tumor size (P = .001), more duodenal carcinoma and pancreatic carcinoma (P < .001), lower resection rate (P = .001) and less pancreatic and perineural invasion (P = .017, P = .002). The I stage was significantly more common in the non-jaundice group (P < .001). The cumulative 5-year survival of the non-jaundice group was significantly higher (P = .032). Multivariate analysis for all patients demonstrated that CEA level, cell differentiation, chemotherapy, and recurrence were independent prognostic factors. Patients with PACs in a non-jaundice stage at diagnosis showed more favorable clinicopathological features and long-term survival than such patients with jaundice.