Frozen section analysis of pancreatic resection margins during pancreaticoduodenectomy for pancreatic adenocarcinoma is not affected by neoadjuvant therapy.

BACKGROUND/

OBJECTIVES

The aim of our study was to evaluate if the histopathological changes occurring in the pancreas post neoadjuvant-therapy (PNAT) for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) may negatively affect the assessment of intra-operative frozen section (FS) analysis of pancreatic resection margins (PRMs).

METHODS

The clinicopathological data of patients who underwent pancreatoduodenectomy for PDAC between 2015 and 2022 were analyzed. Comparison of the accuracy of the FS analysis in treatment naïve (TN) and PNAT patients for all pancreatic margins was performed.

RESULTS

We identified 81 patients with PDAC (40 female, 41 male) of which 47 (58.0 %) were TN and 34 (42.0 %) PNAT. Including FSs performed for re-excisions of initially positive PRMs, we identified 2/103 discrepancies for the pancreatic neck margin, one in a TN patient and one in a PNAT patient; one discrepancy for the common bile duct margin (1/47) in a TN patient; and 2/14 discrepancies for the uncinate margin, both in TN patients. In summary, accuracy of FS analysis was similar in the PNAT and TN groups (98.8 % vs. 96.7 %).

CONCLUSIONS

The histopathological changes occurring in the pancreas PNAT for PDAC do not affect the histopathological interpretation of FS analysis of PRMs, and the accuracy of FS analysis is similar in the PNAT and TN patients.