Postoperative pancreatic fistula (POPF) are major postoperative complications (POCs) following distal pancreatectomy (DP). Notably, POPF may worsen the prognosis of patients with pancreatic cancer. Previously reported risks for POCs include body mass index, pancreatic texture, and albumin levels. Moreover, the C-reactive protein-to-albumin ratio (CAR) is a valuable parameter for prognostication. On the other hand, POCs sometimes lead to a worse prognosis in several cancer types. Thus, we assumed that CAR could be a risk factor for POPFs. This study investigated whether CAR can predict POPF risk in patients with pancreatic cancer following DP. This retrospective study included 72 patients who underwent DP for pancreatic cancer at Ehime University between January 2009 and August 2022. All patients underwent preoperative CAR screening. Risk factors for POPF were analyzed. POPF were observed in 17 of 72 (23.6%) patients. POPF were significantly associated with a higher CAR (p = 0.001). The receiver operating characteristic curve analysis determined the cutoff value for CAR to be 0.05 (sensitivity: 76.5%, specificity: 88.9%, likelihood ratio: 6.88), indicating an increased POPF risk. Univariate and multivariate analysis revealed that CAR ≥ 0.05 was a statistically independent factor for POPF (p < 0.001, p = 0.013). Therefore, CAR has the potential to predict POPF following DP.

Despite extensive research, pancreatic cancer remains a lethal disease with an extremely poor prognosis. The difficulty in early detection and chemoresistance to therapeutic agents are major clinical concerns. To improve prognosis, novel biomarkers, and therapeutic strategies for chemoresistance are urgently needed. microRNAs (miRNAs) play important roles in the development, progression, and metastasis of several cancers. During the last few decades, the association between pancreatic cancer and miRNAs has been extensively elucidated, with several miRNAs found to be correlated with patient prognosis. Moreover, recent evidence has revealed that miRNAs are intimately involved in gemcitabine sensitivity and resistance through epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition, the tumor microenvironment, and drug metabolism. Gemcitabine is the gold standard drug for pancreatic cancer treatment, but gemcitabine resistance develops easily after chemotherapy initiation. Therefore, in this review, we summarize the gemcitabine resistance mechanisms associated with aberrantly expressed miRNAs in pancreatic cancer, especially focusing on the mechanisms associated with epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition, the tumor microenvironment, and metabolism. This novel evidence of gemcitabine resistance will drive further research to elucidate the mechanisms of chemoresistance and improve patient outcomes.

Postoperative pancreatic fistula (POPF) following pancreatoduodenectomy (PD) is a potentially lethal complication, and it is clinically important to determine its risk preoperatively. Although C-reactive protein-to-albumin ratio (CAR) is reported to be a prognostic marker for postoperative complications in several cancers, no evidence is currently available regarding the association between preoperative CAR and POPF following PD for periampullary tumors. This study examined whether preoperative CAR could predict POPF following PD. Clinical data were retrospectively retrieved from Ehime University Hospital. The optimal cut-off value for CAR was determined using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis. This study enrolled 203 consecutive patients undergoing PD for periampullary tumors. The CAR value was significantly higher in the POPF group than in the non-POPF group (p < 0.001). According to the ROC curve analysis, the optimal cut-off value for CAR was 0.09. Patients with CAR ≥ 0.09 had higher incidence rates of POPF than their counterparts. CAR ≥ 0.09 was a risk factor for POPF in the multivariate logistic regression analysis (odds ratio 34.5, 95% confidence interval 11.75–101.38, p < 0.001). This is the first report demonstrating an association between CAR and POPF following PD. Preoperative CAR is an independent predictive marker for POPF following PD.

Background: Variations in hepatic arteries are frequently encountered during pancreatoduodenecomy. Identifying anomalies, especially the problematic aberrant right hepatic artery (aRHA), is crucial to preventing vascular-related complications. In cases where the middle hepatic artery (MHA) branches from aRHAs, their injury may lead to severe liver ischemia. Nevertheless, there has been little information on whether MHA branches from aRHAs. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between aRHAs and the MHA based on the embryological development of visceral arteries. Methods: This retrospective study analyzed contrast-enhanced computed tomography images of 759 patients who underwent hepatobiliary-pancreatic surgery between January 2011 and August 2022. The origin of RHAs and MHA courses were determined using three-dimensional reconstruction. All cases of aRHAs were categorized into those with or without replacement of the left hepatic artery (LHA). Results: Among the 759 patients, 163 (21.4%) had aRHAs. Five aRHAs patterns were identified: (Type 1) RHA from the gastroduodenal artery (2.7%), (Type 2) RHA from the superior mesenteric artery (SMA) (12.7%), (Type 3) RHA from the celiac axis (2.1%), (Type 4) common hepatic artery (CHA) from the SMA (3.5%), and (Type 5) separate branching of RHA and LHA from the CHA (0.26%). The MHA did not originate from aRHAs in Types 1–3, whereas in Type 4, it branched from either the RHA or LHA. Conclusions: Based on the developmental process of hepatic and visceral arteries, branching of the MHA from aRHAs is considered rare. However, preoperative recognition and intraoperative anatomical assessment of aRHAs is essential to avoid injury.

This study demonstrates that the modified frailty index-6 (mFI-6) is a useful tool for predicting the completion of S-1 adjuvant chemotherapy (AC) and associated adverse events (AEs) in patients with pancreatic cancer (PC). mFI-6 is an index that incorporates serum albumin levels into the existing mFI-5, enabling the assessment of patients’ ability to complete S-1 therapy and their risk of developing AEs. This study retrospectively analyzed PC patients from two university hospitals between August 2013 and July 2022. Patients from one hospital were assigned to the testing dataset, while those from the other hospital were used as the validation dataset. Patients were classified as frail if they met at least two of the six criteria, including a serum albumin level of < 3.5 g/dL. In the testing cohort (n = 86 PC patients), frailty patients exhibited greater difficulty in completing S-1 therapy compared to non-frail patients, with a significantly lower completion rate (p = 0.003). Additionally, frail patients demonstrated significantly shorter recurrence-free survival (RFS) and overall survival (OS) compared to their non-frail counterparts. The findings were further validated in the validation dataset, where frail patients exhibited a lower S-1 completion rate and significantly shorter RFS (p = 0.023) and overall survival (OS) (p = 0.045). These results suggest that mFI-6 may be an effective tool for postoperative frailty screening, allowing healthcare professionals to assess patients’ tolerance to S-1 therapy and adjust treatment plans accordingly. Ultimately, the implementation of this index may contribute to improving clinical outcomes for patients with PC.

Although several prognosticators, such as lymph node metastasis (LNM), were reported for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC), the prognostic impact of intrahepatic lymphatic vessel invasion (LVI) in liver cancer has rarely been reported. We sought to clarify the prognostic impact of intrahepatic lymphatic system involvement in liver cancer. We systematically reviewed retrospective studies that described LVI and clinical outcomes of liver cancer and also included studies that investigated tumor-associated lymphangiogenesis. We conducted a meta-analysis using RevMan software (version 5.4.1; Cochrane Collaboration, Oxford, UK). The prognostic impact of intrahepatic LVI in HCC was not reported previously. However, tumor-associated lymphangiogenesis reportedly correlates with prognosis after HCC resection. The prognostic impact of intrahepatic LVI was reported severally for ICC and a meta-analysis showed that overall survival was poorer in patients with positive LVI than with negative LVI after resection of ICC. Lymphangiogenesis was also reported to predict unfavorable prognosis in ICC. Regarding colorectal liver metastases, LVI was identified as a poor prognosticator in a meta-analysis. A few reports showed correlations between LVI/lymphangiogenesis and LNM in liver cancer. LVI and lymphangiogenesis showed worse prognostic impacts for liver cancer than their absence, but further study is needed.